


The First Fall

by giant_green_badger



Series: The Guardians [1]
Category: Golden Sun, 黄金の太陽 | Golden Sun Series, 黄金の太陽 失われし時代 | Golden Sun: The Lost Age, 黄金の太陽 漆黒なる夜明け | Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, 黄金の太陽 開かれし封印 | Golden Sun
Genre: F/M, Gen, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:41:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 47,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26896135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/giant_green_badger/pseuds/giant_green_badger
Summary: The heroes who ended the Grave Eclipse return home, but the conflict has just begun. The countryside has erupted in war, and new evils are rising in every corner of the world. The adepts will need to unravel the mysteries of the lost age to save Weyard. The story includes chapters written from the perspective of all sixteen playable characters from the series.
Relationships: Mut | Matthew/Stella | Sveta
Series: The Guardians [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2142195





	1. Spirit of the Woods

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for checking this out! This is my post-Dark Dawn fanfiction. There are chapters written from the perspective of all sixteen Golden Sun playable characters. I tried to cover all the major plotlines and mysteries from the first three games. All the chapters are pretty short at 2000-3000 words. This book has been completed, and I'm over halfway through writing the next one. The sequel will conclude the main story and all of its subplots. The reason everything I've written hasn't been uploaded is because I'm editing now and posting as I do so.
> 
> Thank you SO much for reading, I really hope you enjoy it!

Howling filled the autumn air. The sound spread readily through the plateau's crags and caves. At his father's cabin Matthew spent half his adolescence on the plateau and knew the sound of a pack getting its prize. It was easy for him to identify any of the plateau creatures by sound or sight. The coyotes Matthew heard tended to hunt in packs but were hard to catch a glimpse of as they emerged close to dusk. Hearing their call now meant camp would have to be made soon.

Matthew's father told him that the mountains and the vale were once home to mountain goats and falcons before the range was replaced by a crater after the Golden Sun Event. When rivers dried, mountains blown to bits, and entire islands sunk, seemingly on the whim of the gods, the wildlife was forced to adapt. Isaac and his companions often faced disapproval for the changes, sometimes catastrophic in scale, and had to live with it for the past thirty years. As he grew older Matthew began to understand that even the Warriors of Vale second guessed their decision.

Matthew considered that he might finally be able to relate to the guilt his father dealt with. Only months early his group had been inadvertently responsible for a disaster that touched most of Angara; the Grave Eclipse. The reception and celebration in Belinsk and the emotional goodbyes with his companions had taken his mind off it but the guilt came back full force on the trek back to the cabin. Corpses of the shadow beasts littered the countryside offering a constant reminder. Matthew and his friends, Tyrell and Karis, had to bury the bodies of the monsters' victims more than once.

Tyrell and Karis walked ahead of Matthew by ten yards as they grew closer and closer to the cabin where they would be reunited with Isaac and Garet. The quest, and especially the events at Apollo's Sanctum, drew Karis and Tyrell, who typically bickered, closer together. It seemed to have had that effect on all of them. Matthew's thoughts drifted to Sveta.

"Here." Tyrell grunted his intention to make camp for the night. He dropped his massive bag to the ground and a cloud of dust enveloped it.

Too open, Matthew almost said before he remembered it was over. No more nightmarish monsters to fight tooth and nail. Matthew wondered if the paranoia that accompanied hiking the lands that fell under the eclipse's dark cover would ever go away.

Karis nodded, "I guess this works." She placed her bag on the ground and exhausted she crashed on top of it without bothering to set up the tarp yet. Matthew smiled and put his own bag down to fish out the tarp. Karis finally sat up and gathered some twigs and logs together, throwing them at Tyrell's feet for him to start a fire. Tyrell closed his eyes for a moment and conjured a small flame to set a campfire ablaze.

Such cooperation between the two would be unimaginable to Matthew a year ago. He still remembered know-it-all nine year old Karis making up games to play with Tyrell, Matthew, and Matthew's younger sister Beth. Karis' two younger brothers weren't born yet and Tyrell was an only child. Karis' strong will clashed with Tyrell's short fuse on more than one occasion. One incident came back to Matthew in particular.

Matthew and the others would often play in the halls of Master Hammet's, Karis' grandfather, great palace in Kalay. Matthew's and Karis' family had homes built in the city and the palace was always open to the Warriors of Vale and their families. The kids would play pretend adventures and re-enact their parents' quest to light the four lighthouses by running to the four corners of the palace to pretend to light each lighthouse.

Once Karis tried to force Tyrell to pretend to be the Proxian warrior, the villain of their games. He protested adamantly but was shot down by Karis who said "It's my Grandpa's palace". Tyrell could only bear ten minutes before he exploded in fury. Tears were shed. That was the one time Karis knew she went too far.

Matthew looked at the two now cooperating to create the fire. The turbulent events of the venture, especially the eclipse, changed both of them had changed and they were closer than ever. Matthew didn't suspect either of any intentions other than platonic but Karis seemed to have found something true of herself in Tyrell and vice versa.

Matthew finished spreading the tarp on the ground for them to sleep on for the night. He looked up but only saw the richly lit navy sky and moon of early dusk shining back at him: a welcome sight after the harrowing darkness of the grave eclipse which lasted several months. Not suspecting a storm Matthew didn't bother setting up any rain cover. The three companions sat up on the tarp watching the sun retreat behind the mountains in the west.

The events of the quest played in Matthew's head as they sat together quietly, too exhausted for prolonged conversation. First Tyrell's crash. Then the dark journey through the woods. Encountering the Tuaparang for the first time. Ayuthay's eerie glowing halls. Being lost and emotionally crushed after being trapped under Kaocho. The awe inspiring cloud passage. Their failure at Belinsk. Finally, the bitter cold of the endless wall and the intense heat of Apollo's Lens. And all the in between. Countless nights on the road and moments between friends who became a family. Matthew was very rarely the one to break any sort of silence but he was feeling unusually sentimental, "Our last night on the road."

Karis smiled and Tyrell offered a loud cheer of "No more wild turnip for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!" which turned Matthew and Karis' quiet smiles into laughter.

Karis responded, "Well I won't miss that. But we'll miss Rief, Amiti, and everyone." She was feeling equally sentimental. Matthew silently considered their friends, especially Sveta. He had grown extremely close with her and being away was hurting him more than he expected. His mind went back to an often played memory: his last night in Belinsk with Sveta. It was hard to make sense of.

"Well we should pack it in. If we get up early we can make the cabin by noon." Karis offered after a short silence.

Tyrell smiled, "The cabin. Finally this insane escapade is over. My dad better be happy when he sees the precious feather."

Matthew fell asleep before his head in the tarp.

* * *

The rising sun broke Matthew's long sleep and he bounded awake with new energy. Tonight he would spend the night on a bed. Today he would see his father again. Today he would be home. He looked over to the still sleeping Karis and Tyrell and saw a perfect opportunity to clear his head. He took Karis' hunting bow and set out to collect breakfast.

He headed down the hill they had slept on into a slightly green area of the Goma crater. The Golden Sun event left very little vegetation in the resulting crater but this was a great spot to hunt. Just enough grass to support wild hare and water flowed through from the higher parts of the crater. It was a sort of valley, or more accurately a divot in a massive crater. Matthew remembered his father teaching him to hunt in this exact spot. Hunched behind a log the two were as quiet as mice stalking tiny hare. Matthew imagined the pair must have been an amusing site, hunting the quaintest of prey with seriousness that only Matthew's father Isaac could muster. The greatest of the Warriors of Vale facing his greatest challenge, Matthew mused to himself.

Matthew was all too familiar with these wild hares. Their movements, patterns, and tendencies. He was also familiar with the fact that they made a delicious breakfast if prepared correctly. Matthew left that part to Tyrell, who surprisingly turned out to be a master cook. Yet again Matthew reflected just how much saving the world changes someone. Turning Tyrell into a cook is probably the most impossible change that actually happened, Matthew smiled to himself.

And there it was. A perfectly plump brown hare utterly failing to blend into the light green grass and red earth that was his backdrop. He readied his bow. He was nowhere near as good of a shot as Karis or Amiti but this was one he couldn't miss. He focused his mind, held his breath, and…

Out of the corner of his eye he glimpsed a shimmering light. His concentration broke and the arrow flew haywire missing the hare by a yard and lodging itself harmlessly into the trunk of a mighty pine tree. Matthew turned towards the light but saw only a doe golden in color. It stared back at him with large black eyes. Its back was spotted white and its figure was slender but strong. A typical doe. So why can't I look away?

He slowly approached. The doe jerked but did not run. Matthew raised his arm. He slowly stepped through dead leaves on the forest floor towards the doe. Finally the doe bolted. Matthew followed it with his eyes. After only a few yards it stopped and turned back at Matthew. He thought he saw its eyes sparkle, urging him onwards. Where are you leading me?

The laggard chase continued this way through the trees. Everything around Matthew seemed to slow down. The birds looked drowsy to him and the wind felt like warm breath on his skin. All the individual sounds of the forest began to blend together making it until all he could hear was a single peaceful hum made from the combination of the birds' songs and the wind. As it happened serenity washed over his body. He felt something trying to communicate with him. Something from beyond his realm. Some spirit of the forest. His eyes fixated on the doe so that all else around it became a blur of green and brown.

Then a flash. The light forced him to shut his eyes. When he opened them his vision and hearing returned. The doe was nowhere in sight. Instead his eyes focused on an opening in the side of a rock cliff. Surrounding it were markings, similar to those he had seen at the cloud passage. When they passed through the magnificent sky road Rief took thorough drawings of the markings. He showed them to Kraden later who had no idea what to make of them and claimed they were like nothing he had seen. Matthew felt they must hold some legendary secrets as Kraden had seen many ancient markings, including the Great Lighthouses. If the markings didn't match then perhaps they contained secrets yet to be uncovered by his parents and the Warriors of Vale.

Matthew reached into his bag to get parchment and roughly sketched what he saw before entering the cave. He found the cave to be shallow with a single chest, a rusty shade of brown and covered in vines, inside. It wasn't much compared to the colossal ruins he had explored only months earlier. He moved to open the chest carefully, being wary of the mimic chests that had a way of catching adventurers off guard. Touching the chest all he felt was cold metal; it was safe.

Matthew unsheathed his dagger from his hip and began labouredly cutting and ripping vines aside. Clearly the chest and cave had remained untouched for years. Taking a break he looked around the outside of the cave. There were no trees covering the entrance, in fact the closest tree was a giant pine ten yards away. He could spot a rough stone path a few yards past the tree. A cave entrance couldn't be more obvious. It was baffling for no one to have found it and plundered the chest before now. Especially with the amount of ranging his father and Garet did in the area.

Finally the vines were all clear. Matthew unlatched a rusty handle and heaved the chest. It would not budge. He glanced to see that the hinges were rusted shut. He conjured a small blast of earth psynergy to destroy the hinges and simply lifted the entire lid off the chest. Inside wrapped in cloth was a chain necklace with a small medallion. It was copper in colour and the medallion's markings matched those on the cave's entrance. He sensed no psynergy intertwined with it, rare for an artifact so old. This just gets more and more confusing. Why would someone hide away a useless copper necklace? And why did that doe, that spirit, whatever that was, feel it was so important for me to see?

Matthew pocketed the necklace anyways and walked towards the path finally ending the strange saga. He looked both ways on the path to try and get a handle on where he was in relation to Tyrell and Karis. Looking up he could see that it was noon. Remembering his initial goal for going out he thought I guess I won't be catching breakfast today. He made south, where he suspected he'd run into his friends. Sure enough he caught a glimpse forty yards away of red and green a minute later.

"Matt! Where the heck have you been?" Tyrell's booming voice questioned Matthew. Matthew knew his friend well enough to know he wasn't angry. Tyrell was too excited to finally a few hours from home that he couldn't be angry.

Matthew gave Tyrell a goofy smile, "Just out for a stroll", he replied.

Karis tried to hold back a smile and jogged towards Matthew. She was excited too. The cabin had become like a second home to Karis over the past few years. When she reached Matthew she plucked the bow off his back, "That explains that mystery."

Matthew laughed, "I forgot I had it, I was trying to catch breakfast".

"Our fearless leader", Karis teased affectionately.

Tyrell walked past Matthew without stopping, determined to get home, "Next time you take six hours to catch breakfast at least bring something back."

After their venture's final hike, they finally reached the wooden bridge leading to the cabin. Isaac and Garet built the bridge years ago to be able to get to the tiny plateau that the cabin was built on. The plateau was the perfect size and stability for the cabin. The closest to Mount Aleph Isaac could possibly have built it. Unfortunately it was quite the hike to get there, hence the bridge.

Matthew's morning detour meant that they reached the bridge at dusk, rather than at noon. He didn't mind because dusk was the most beautiful time to be at the cabin. The light of the setting sun enhanced the deep orange hues of the canyon's earth. The perfect sight for eyes that had longed for home for the better part of a year.

"Ah, it's good to be back," Karis said with deep satisfaction. Tyrell, unable to contain himself, ran to the centre of the bridge to take it in. Matthew smiled and he and Karis followed. As he walked onto the bridge Matthew saw it. He had no idea how they missed it before. His heart dropped.

Unaware Tyrell turned to Matthew, "Nice to see the good ol' cabin again, eh, Matthew?"

Matthew's lungs betrayed him. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't speak. He felt his whole body tense up with fear and his mind began to race. Possibilities whirled through his head like a hail storm.

"What's wrong Matthew?" Karis spoke now, still painfully unaware. Matthew didn't know what to say.

Tyrell looked confused, "Aren't you happy to be home?"

Still unable to speak Matthew pointed. Concern was written on Karis' face and her gaze fixated still on Matthew, "What Matthew?"

Finally Tyrell turned to look. To finally see it, "Look over there!"

Then Karis saw it too. The three companions stood shocked, unable to look away. In front of them was a giant psynergy vortex, threatening to devour the cabin and bridge alike.


	2. The Iris Emperor

The twilight sun shimmered on the slick deck as Eoleo mopped the wooden surface of the old Alfhafran sailing vessel. He had dropped off the last of his companions, the young sage girl Himi, at her home in Yamata City. She was quiet but decent company. The girl was a talented adept and seer but a little bit too serious for Eoleo’s pirate sensibilities. When the group was all together sailing the Great Eastern Sea she was often occupied with using the Third Eye to scope out Umbra Gear. Eoleo would try and coax a smile from her, but was rarely rewarded.

Now the pirate was sailing to Tonfon, the Sanan imperial capital. Before returning to Champa he wished to consult with his country's neighbour, the great and ever expanding Sanan Empire. Eoleo planned to request the support of the Emperor Unan in rebuilding Champa. Unan had been supportive of the group in their quest, and Eoleo hoped this would transfer to better diplomatic relations between their two countries.

He found that traveling along on the ship was difficult. But he had been a sailor for as long as he remembered. He was hoisting and lowering sails since before he was a teenager. In those days, the early days of the Golden Sun age, the sea was viscous. Whirl pools and waterfalls appeared in the middle of the vast ocean. So Eoleo had learned to sail in the most troubling of waters, for his father never paled in their wake.

Eoleo blinked long and felt his eyes begin to dampen as he remembered his father taking him out to sea as a boy. Eoleo hadn't put much thought into what Champa would do without Briggs, or what  _ he  _ would do without Briggs, during the quest to end the Grave Eclipse. He had to put grief in a closet in the very back of his mind.

For the time being Eoleo decided to keep it there. He dropped his mop to the floor and clutched the ropes to turn the sails and steer the ship. At the bow of the ship he could make out the faint light of a small lighthouse. The wind picked up and his father's old Alhafran ship quickened towards port.

As he approached he could make out the cobblestone walls of the lighthouse. Stairs spiraled the lighthouse on the outside and a small figure climbed them. At the top the figure lit the torch the flames glimmered against the silver sea of dusk.

As the sun set behind the Pumora Range, the eroded Sanan mountain range, Eoleo's ship sailed up the coast and around the peninsula where the stone lighthouse stood. There was still enough light to make out the lighthouse keeper as he passed. He sat at lighthouse summit gazing east. Eoleo offered a wave to the stocky man who returned it.

After rounding the peninsula Eoleo could finally make out the shape of the city beyond. In the massive city of Tonfon wooden houses and stone walls were lit up by torches. At the port many ships were still arriving.  _ This city never sleeps. _

* * *

After waiting nearly an hour for the docks to clear, several Sanan boatmen and sailors helped Eoleo dock the ship. He bounded off and onto the docks below. A young sailor with a mop of black hair and a very thin patchy beard approached.  _ No older than Matt,  _ Eoleo thought.

“Where's the rest of you?” he asked Eoleo.

Eoleo laughed, “Just me.”

The boy gaped. Then he smirked, “Seriously. Where?”

“None.”

“Come on. If they want to sleep on the ship that's fine. You don't have to pretend they don't exist,” the boy said.

“Look,” Eoleo said, “I'm Champan. We don't need a crew of fifty for one tiny ship.”

The boy looked curiously at Eoleo's vessel, “Looks like this ship has seen better days. Are you a warrior?”

“I just came out of the eclipse,” Eoleo said.

The boy shook his head and gaped again, “Come on.”

Eoleo laughed, “Take a look.” He pointed to one of the holes in the ship's upper hull. Eoleo recalled the exact battle. A shadow beast gone mad slammed its horns into the hull and got stuck there. Tyrell wasted no time in cleaving the monster in two but probably ended up doing more damage to the hull. Eoleo smiled to himself at the memory.

“Well then. I guess you'll be wanting to rest at the inn. I can show you the way?” the Sanan sailor asked.

“I know the way. But I need to see the Emperor first,” Eoleo said.

“Come on man!” the boy said for the third time.

“Want to come?” Eoleo asked.

The boy snorted and Eoleo picked up his pack and headed off into the city. A moment passed and he heard the young sailors footsteps scurry across the dock behind him. The two entered Tonfon together which was strangely empty. The market with its cobble ground and the tight streets lined with houses and shops were all vacant. 

Eoleo remembered that while he was talking with the boy at the docks many men and women unload from the ships and enter the city at a quick pace. None of the ships were departing, only arriving. And Sanans of every age and occupation were arriving in the city, for what Eoleo assumed was supplies.  _ Shouldn't they now be at the market? Where is everyone now? _

The young sailor struggled to keep up with Eoleo's pace but came up beside him, “Who  _ are _ you?”

“I'm Eoleo. A sailor from Champa.”

“You already said that. But,” he faltered for a moment before continuing, “How do  _ you _ know the Emperor?”

“Well, I'm a friend of Ryu Kou and Hou Ju's,” Eoleo said.

“The royal family?”

“Yes,” Eoleo said, “and who are you then?”

“I'm Shui, and I sail. And we Sanans aren't as bad at is as you think,” the boy said proudly.

Just then the pair arrived at the garden pathway to Emperor Unan's palace. All about the gardens were Iris flowers, the symbol of the Emperor. The noise from the crowd drowned out Shui's bragging. At least a thousand people were gathered there, all Sanans by the look of it. There were farmers, soldiers, craftsmen, and nobles. The pathway's torches lit up their faces. Children were huddled with their parents, friends stood together in large groups. All were murmuring worried words and looking up at the palace, as if they were waiting.

The sound of light Sanan fanfare horns blasted through the air and cut the chatter. From the palace emerged a procession of guards and royals. Eoleo could make out the Emperor in the middle, dressed in elaborate garments of silk. Behind him were his old friends Hou Ju and Ryu Kou with their mother Hinechou. They were too far to make out their faces. Eoleo only recognized them by their figures and royal dress.

After the fanfare ceased, the crowd bowed lowly. Eoleo followed suit, after Shui threw an elbow into the pirate's ribs. They waited in utter silence for the word of the Emperor. Eoleo glanced up to see the starlight and moonlight shining brightly. To the west was a dark cloud front rapidly approaching the city.  _ Not very good sailing conditions. Perhaps I'll stay the night,  _ Eoleo thought.

Unan rose both his arms in the air and then placed one in front of him and the other behind him. He bowed before his people. The crowd gasped. Then he spoke in a clear and resonating voice, “My people! Today is a-” 

At that moment many things happened at once. A loud twang of crossbow sounded over Unan's word and a bolt whizzed from behind Eoleo's head. It was black and moved with ferocious velocity before lodging itself into the Emperor's neck. 

The crowd erupted into madness. A great many Sanans charged down the path back into the city and in all other directions. They were shouting curses and weeping laments. Resonating above everything else were the shrill cold words of some terrified Sanan, “The Emperor is dead! _ ” _

Through a sea of limbs, shouts, and weeping, Eoleo could see Unan's limp body crashing to the ground. Some of his guards raised shields to protect the royal family and rushed them back into the castle while the rest sifted through the crowd desperately looking for the assassin. In the madness misunderstandings and pushing resulted in fights breaking out between the Sanan citizens and guards and among the Sanan citizens.

Eoleo and Shui stood at the far back of the crowd, the closest to Tonfon.  _ The closest to the assassin,  _ Eoleo thought. He was positive that the bolt came from behind him. Before wasting any more time on thought, Eoleo turned away from the palace and sprinted into the city streets.

“Where are you going?” came Shui's voice behind him. The boy was running to keep up with Eoleo. All around them people ran to their homes or began to dismantle market stands and thieve, using the chaos as a shroud for their crimes.

“Go home Shui!” Eoleo said. Out of the corner of his eye the pirate noticed something useful: a ladder.  _ The only way the assassin could get such a clear shot is from the rooftops. That's where I'll find him. _

Without saying any more words to Shui, Eoleo climbed up the ladder as fast as he could manage. He was up at least three stories by the time he was standing on the rooftop. The madness of Tonfon was still deafening but Eoleo's sight line was now clear. He could see nearly the entire city from his vantage point. To help him see he lit a flame that flickered with its base in his palm using psynergy.

“Whoa!” Shui said, “How are you doing that?” Eoleo turned to see Shui had followed him up the ladder.  _ He can see my psynergy? How? _

Before Eoleo could tell Shui to go back down he caught a figure on a rooftop nearly two hundred yards away. Eoleo dashed towards it and leaped to the adjacent rooftop nearly a full story lower. He rolled to break his fall. He jumped and climbed and ran through a few more rooftops in this way. The figure still hadn't noticed him. He was now only fifty yards away.

Finally the assassin noticed Eoleo and took off running in the opposite direction. He leaped onto Tonfon's outer wall and Eoleo followed him. The wall was less than a metre thick and Eoleo chased the assassin along it in a full out sprint. A stone from the wall gave out under his foot. His knee and his palm slammed into the stones and broke his fall. He looked down to see the street yards and yards below him.  _ Close one. _

Eoleo looked up and saw the assassin had disappeared. He continued running along the wall until he noticed a rope tied to a peg on the top of the wall. The other end dangled down to the street. _ He must have climbed down here.  _ Eoleo climbed down the rope.

He found himself in a quiet alley between a longhouse and the wall. The ashes of a small fire pit were nearby among heaps of trash. He heard the sound of feet hitting the stone ground behind him and whirled around. Standing there was Shui.

“You followed me?” Eoleo whispered.

“You'll probably need help, you're from Champa after all,” Shui said and a goofy smile lit up his entire face. Eoleo couldn't believe the sailor had made it across all those rooftops and onto the sprint along the wall.

A sound filled the alleyway again, it seemed to Eoleo like the sound of wood against stone. Shui's eyes widened. Eoleo mouthed the word  _ quiet _ to his new friend. Slowly Eoleo put a hand on the hilt of his sword. It felt warm against his grip and he peeled his eyes to look for the assassin.

Slowly he walked towards the source of the sound, where the house's wall met the great wall of Tonfon. There was a dead end there.  _ I got him,  _ Eoleo thought. The alley was far too narrow for the assassin to escape past Eoleo undetected and there was no way up the smooth wall as Eoleo stood in between the assassin and the rope.

As Eoleo grew closer he finally made out the silhouette of his enemy. “Drop your weapons and come out,” he said.

The assassin was cloaked in all black and his face was shrouded. At his back hung a crossbow. Eoleo drew his sword. Shui stood beside him with a small sailor's knife. Instead of dropping his crossbow the assassin grabbed something from his pack and threw it to the ground all in one fluid motion.

The attack was too fast for Eoleo to react with sword or psynergy. From the object emerged a thick nauseous grey gas.  _ Smoke bomb,  _ Eoleo realized angrily.

“Back up!” Eoleo shouted at Shui. But it was too late. The assassin, with a thin black blade drawn, leaped out of the gas and at Shui. The black robed assassin looked up at Eoleo and dodged the pirate's visceral sword swing. He slashed Eoleo's stomach with the quick blade and ran out of the alleyway past him and back into Tonfon.

Eoleo put a hand on his wound and it became wet with blood. By the time he looked up the assassin was gone. He rushed over to where Shui lay in a pool of blood.

Cradling the boy in his arms he saw that the assassin's blade had pierced him in the centre of the chest. Shui looked at Eoleo desperately but was unable to speak. Rain began to fall slowly unto Tonfon. Eoleo looked up and the sky was shrouded in the thick grey clouds that had rolled in from the west.

The boy clutched at Eoleo's tunic, “Eoleo...”

The pirate warrior couldn't speak. He simply held Shui as the young sailor succumbed to his wounds dying in the cold Tonfon night.


	3. Into the Abyss

Karis felt herself growing weaker as she gazed into the vortex. At its centre was a pulsating purple star. To stare at it felt like staring at something thousands of thousands of miles away. The only thing she could liken it to was star gazing on the clearest of nights. And yet it was right there only yards north of the bridge. She had seen vortexes before but nothing like this. It felt as though her entire skeleton reverberated with each pulse of the vortex. She couldn’t avert her gaze.  _ What was that saying Grandpa used to tell me? _

“Time to go.” Tyrell said in the voice of a mouse. Karis stared into the void.  _ Something about an abyss. _

Karis sensed Matt’s concerned look from her peripheral vision, “Karis?”

The void pulsed and she felt it drawing her towards it.  _ When you stare into the abyss… _

Tyrell tugged her arm, “Come on! Let’s get out of here!”

It was like looking through a whole into the world and glimpsing what was beyond.  _ … the abyss stares back into you.  _ The trance was broken. She darted off the bridge to the west, towards the cabin, and her friends followed. With every step the real world seemed to come back to her.  _ Nothing was ever like that. None of the vortexes. Not even the eclipse. _

“What  _ was  _ that?” Tyrell queried, now a safe distance from the vortex. Karis knew. She knew Matt knew. Tyrell must have been asking for fear he already knew the answer.

“The Mourning Moon,” Matt said, never afraid to state the truth no matter how bleak it was, “We have to get to the cabin.”

Karis sensed fear in her friend’s words. This was his father’s cabin.  _ The vortex is only yards away from the cabin, and if it’s truly the Mourning Moon there are surely many more nearby, and all around Weyard.  _ She glanced at Tyrell, whose face was as pale as clouds. Her stomach dropped. The last time there had been a Mourning Moon he lost so much. More than her or Matt could comprehend or relate to. Tyrell never spoke about it, save for that one night during the eclipse when everything seemed to be lost anyways. She couldn’t imagine what Tyrell was going through right now let alone how to help him. Karis glanced at Matt again and exchanged a knowing look.

Karis opened her mouth but all that she could muster was, “Tyrell…”

His gaze was cast downwards. Curtly and without moving his eyes he said, “Let’s go.”

The rest of the walk was in solemn and terrified silence. Shortly they arrived at the cabin. Karis had always assumed that their homecoming would be pure and everything would be how it was left. She remembered the stories of her father’s homecoming to Kalay. Her grandfather had prepared a feast and later a celebration for the entire city. Her father had even met her mother at the ceremony. But her own homecoming felt closer to Isaac and Garet’s, when Vale was decimated.

The Cabin had all its windows boarded with oak and nails. Surrounding it stood a makeshift lumber wall. The corpses of shadow beasts were scattered on either side of the wall. Large chunks of the roof were completely torn away. Karis’ gaze shifted to the west. Yet again her heart sank and her throat felt stuck. West of the cabin was newly dug four graves. The world around her shrank and she felt tears forming as she realized what it meant.  _ Could it be? _

“The eclipse.” She blurted out in a shaky voice. She wouldn’t cry.

Matt looked worse than he had since that night during the eclipse, “And now the vortexes… We have to go in.”

Tyrell remained silent. Karis worried about the rage that was building in him. Before they could get to the door it flew open. Karis held her breath. Garet bounded out. His wrinkles were showing more than Karis remembered them to be and he had replaced his mustache with a full red beard. His hair was unkempt as well but still as full as ever. He was wearing a simple red tunic and was unarmed save for a short dagger at his hip. A new scar marked his neck. He looked worn. He looked defeated. He finally looked his age. But he was definitely alive.

“My boy.” He embraced Tyrell and then the other two. Karis couldn’t speak,  _ where’s Isaac? _

Karis looked at Matt who tried to hold himself together. “Are you alright?” Matt asked.

Garet looked stunned. Even in the disturbing absence of his father Matt made sure to take care of the people around him first. “Yes of course. Your dad should be fine too. But I think it’s time we go find him.”

_ He’s alive.  _ Karis still couldn’t find words. She looked at Matt and Tyrell. None of them were sure what to ask Garet next. Finally Matt spoke, “Where is he?”

“He’s scouting the crater. Come inside and I’ll explain.”

The group walked through the doorway and into the cabin. It looked worse on the inside. In the hallway blankets, straw, and packs were spread across the floor. As Karis turned the corner she spotted their owners. Two men and a woman stood packing away their things. They looked as bad as Garet. They wore tattered tunics and cloaks and were all armed with daggers. One of the men was decorated with many wrinkles and a full white beard. The younger man had dark curly hair and a thin mustache. The woman had long light hair and looked to be the youngest of the lot. On their faces was the same defeated expression that Garet had. Karis could tell none of them were adepts.

Garet finally rounded the corner. He motioned to the young woman, “Um, this is Yarath,” then to the old man, “Dodonpa”.  _ Dodonpa. The leader of Lunpa. Looks a lot less regal than I’d expect… _

Garet pointed at the young man, “and Johan. They’re traders out of Lunpa. When the eclipse started they were caught on the road. We brought them here to wait it out.”

That explained the boarding of the windows. And the wall. But three was a bit small for a trading party. Then the sad truth came to her,  _ the graves outside. _

Garet addressed the traders and introduced Matt, Tyrell, and Karis.

Yarath spoke first, “It’s good to meet you. We’ve heard a lot,” she smiled, “it feels like we’ve come to know you through your dads.”

She greeted each of them individually. Dodonpa smiled at each and shook their hands while exchanging greetings. Johan, the most melancholy of the bunch, barely spoke but shook each of their hands as well. They talked a little while longer. 

Suddenly Karis felt a deep remorse for the Lunpans. She knew it must have shown on her face as Dodonpa shot her a grandfatherly smile as if to say  _ We’re still alive, aren’t we? _ Karis’ father only ever had good things to say about the old man. That had always amazed Karis. The man had kidnapped her grandfather and held him for ransom. Dodonpa was not remotely the same man as he was in those days. 

Being close to Mount Aleph, Lunpa was in a precarious position following the Golden Sun event. Dodonpa rallied and protected his people and won the respect and loyalty of the Warriors of Vale. Karis looked at him now and she couldn't say he looked like a great leader. More like a worn soul clinging to one last flicker of hope. 

Garet shuffled his feet and cleared his throat. “I’m sure the kids are anxious to hear about Isaac. Sorry to have to cut the greetings short.”

Yarath smiled, “Of course.” The traders continued to pack their things.

Karis and the others went into the main room and sat around the table. Garet took tea from the fireplace and poured four mugs, “First of all Isaac is fine. I’m sure of it.” A look of relief washed over Matt’s face.

“After the eclipse started we took in those traders. They had no other options. Two of them were dead by the time we got there. We took the rest back to the cabin. They were hopeless fighters. Barely had any hunting experience even. Four of them died. We buried them out back. Two from injuries they had before we found them and two from accidents afterwards. We tried to protect them. They were good people. The lot of them. Johan lost both his parents and has barely spoken since. It’s been a very hard few months.”

Garet didn’t need to tell Karis how hard it had been on them. She could see it in his eyes alone. And things weren’t about to get any easier.

Matt, who had been staring at his tea, looked up, “And my dad?”

Garet sighed. “During the eclipse he kept getting visions. He saw the Wise One in danger. A doe would lead him through the crater and towards Sol Sanctum. He saw himself at Sol Sanctum in an undiscovered chamber. Over and over. Every night.”

“Can the Wise One even  _ be  _ in danger?” Tyrell interrupted.

Garet looked thoughtful, “Isaac thinks so. Years ago the Wise One tested  _ us _ . You know the story. He wanted to make sure we could protect Weyard after the Golden Sun rose. If he was invincible he wouldn’t need us.”

Tyrell nodded. Matt stared into his mug. Garet looked thoroughly shaken. And scared.  _ If the Wise One is in trouble what does that mean for the rest of us? _

Karis’ eyes met Garet’s, “So Isaac went to save the Wise One? Alone?”

The big man looked like he was about to cry. She had never seen him this broken, “He was convinced he had to go. But someone had to stay here with the traders. We couldn’t leave them to die. And we certainly couldn’t take them with us. The crater was treacherous enough without shadow beasts in every crag. I tried to convince him not to…”

Garet trailed off. In a voice of stone Matt asked, “How long?”

Finally Garet looked at Matt. “He’s been gone for three weeks. It’s time to go find him. The traders are healed and ready to head home.”

Tyrell looked at his father. “You said you’re sure he’s okay.”

“I am. It’s Isaac. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t need my help. Or that he won’t need it soon.”

“Our help.” Matt corrected.

* * *

The bright rays of high noon peaked into the cabin from between the boards that covered the windows. Karis, Matt, and Tyrell spent the afternoon reliving their quest to Garet. Telling him that they were there when the Eclipse began was one of the hardest things she ever had to do. Especially after seeing firsthand how Garet suffered from it. Garet told them over and over not to put the blame on themselves but it didn’t change how Karis felt. 

“Let’s head out”, Dodonpa and his traders were ready to return home. The group made their way out of the cabin and onto the plateau. It was hard to believe it had only been a few hours since they got there.

They walked in silence until they reached the bridge. Karis’ group was to head north and Dodonpa’s east back home. In his left hand he held a cane so he extended his right to shake Garet’s hand. He smiled as his eyes met his saviour’s, “I cannot begin to thank you.”

Garet pulled the old man into a hug, “I’m so sorry.”  _ He’s sorry for the ones they lost. _

Sharp pangs of guilt attacked Karis. She felt like screaming.  _ This isn’t his fault. This is our fault. We allowed them to activate the Eclipse Tower. _

Dodonpa smiled warmly but did not speak. Yarath thanked and hugged Garet. The young man, Johan, looked like he was in a completely different world. Nonetheless he thanked Garet as well. The traders bid farewells to Karis, Matt, and Tyrell and then headed east on the bridge, past the vortex, towards Lunpa. Karis didn’t watch them go. Looking at the vortex drained her too much.

After the traders were gone Garet led his group north and into the crater. They all knew the Mount Aleph crater was the most dangerous hike in Angara. And that was without the Mourning Moon to deal with. Ironically that’s the number one place the Warriors of Vale needed to keep watch over.  _ That’s why dad has been working on the soarwing for all these years. _

Karis stopped, “The soarwing!”

The rest of the group stopped and looked at her. She couldn’t help but laugh, “Isn’t that we left in the first place? To repair the soarwing? Right Tyrell?”

He smiled at the jab, the first time since they got to the cabin. Karis continued, “We have the Roc feather. I’m sure I can use it to fix the soarwing. If we’re hiking the crater we’ll need it.”

Garet brushed a hand through his hair, “But none of us know how to fly it.”

Karis hadn’t thought of that. Isaac and her dad were the only ones who flew the soarwing.

Kneeling, Matt drew the feather from his pack. Looking at it he said, “Doesn’t hurt to fix it though. If worse comes to worse.”

Garet nodded, “It’s in the attic. We blocked off the stairs after we lost the attic to the shadow beasts. But the soarwing should be fine. Isaac repaired the body damage before the Eclipse.”

The group headed back to the cabin to retrieve the broken soarwing. Karis cleared away a blockade that Isaac and Garet must have built at the bottom of the steps. Karis climbed the creaky steps towards the soarwing. Dust flew off the handle bar as she clutched it. Through massive holes the sun lit up the upper floor. Blood splattered the floor and a massive shadow beast lay dead. 

Then she saw it. On Isaac’s workbench the soarwing sat, away from where the conflict must have taken place. Upon inspecting it Karis knew exactly what to do. It was actually an easy fix.  _ Isaac did a good job with it. Thank the gods it wasn’t touched in the fight. All I need to do is attach the new Roc feather. It will probably fly better than ever.  _ Karis had spent countless hours working with her dad on the soarwing. Her biggest interest had always been mechanics. In his workshop her dad used to tell her that she was lucky to be born when she was, in an age of discovery. She knew the soarwing better than anyone but him.  _ He never let me fly it… _

With the repaired soarwing in tow Karis’ group hiked the next few days into the crater. It was slow going. After dusk on the third night the group decided to push on. Tyrell and Garet took turns producing small flames to guide them through the crags. The only thing easy about the trek was keeping their bearing. 

Since before Karis was born the top of Mount Aleph was lit day and night so it could be seen from miles in any direction. Follow the light and they’d get to the Mountain. Getting in the Sanctum was another story. The only ones who had ever been inside in living memory were the Heroes of Vales and the Proxian Warriors. Karis’ father never even made it into the Sanctum.  _ And we need to get in to find Isaac and save the Wise One. _

Garet, in the lead, stopped, “I think it’s time to make camp. We’re wasting our energy trying to get through this in the dark.”

Tyrell nodded and dropped his pack where he stood. Karis followed suit. Matt walked right into Tyrell, “Sorry.” He looked around at the packs on the earth, “Oh we’re done for the day. Sorry, I think I was out of it for a second there.”

Matt was getting more and more distant. It worried Karis. Trying to comfort her friend she smiled, “I think we all need some sleep.”

He returned the smile and his pack crashed to the ground and him after it.

Garet looked relieved. Kneeling to the ground he said, “I’ll make a fi-”

His words were interrupted by the sound of stones crashing into the crater floor. The sound of crows cackling and fluttering away from the collapse filled the autumn night. Without thinking Karis had bounded to her feet. Her zol sword was drawn and ready. The moon reflected off the blade shining bright blue-green rays onto the earth. Looking over she saw Matt, Tyrell, and Garet all had weapons drawn. There were no natural landslides in the crater.  _ That’s what normally makes it so eerie here. The silence.  _ Someone was out there.


	4. Shadows Stir

More loud branches crashed and cracked as Garet had trouble regulating his breathing. The noise cut through the night’s silence like a knife through butter. The absurdity of such a racket in the crater was disturbing. The crater was mostly stone and slate. Large rock mounds covered with tiny pieces of slate that formed a slippery surface. If you took a wrong step you’d tumble down yards and yards into one of the deep crags without anything to grab onto or break your fall. Shrubbery was in short supply, so clattering of the type Garet was hearing was unusual to say the least.

His hands were moist with sweat and he clutched the handle of his blade with vigour. It was a beautiful cold grey steel sword imbued with the power of Mars psynergy. In a short flash he remembered finding the sword. Spelunking in Magma Rock after the Golden Sun rose. With Isaac. And with Ellie. His wife. He shook the memory away.

Garet turned to the kids. Matt and Karis were listening intently. Tyrell was stone faced and at the ready. Ever since the last Mourning Moon the vortexes distressed Tyrell. In place of Garet’s goofy boy was a man who had seen too much. A man who has lost too much. Not for the first time Garet found himself wishing he could reach him.  _ If only his mother were still alive. _

“Must be coming for over there.” Matt gestured towards an isolated patch of shrubs. He led and they followed. Isaac’s boy had grown into the spitting image of his father. It hadn’t always been that way. Garet smiled to himself remembering Matt the toddler. Stubborn as a mule and talkative too. He would break into a full sprint away from Jenna to avoid a nap.  _ A lot more like his mother then. _

Now he looked more man than boy with a golden sword drawn. They hadn’t sent Matt away with that, but it looked very familiar. Nearly the same as Isaac’s Sol Blade from the Mars Lighthouse. Garet found it strange that there would be a near replica of the sword and stranger that it would happen into the hands of Isaac’s son.

In the cabin, the kids told Garet it was from Apollo’s Sanctum. The story made Garet feel a bit guilty about sending them out on what turned out to be such a dangerous mission. He and Isaac regularly talked about going out to find the kids during the eclipse. But they knew it was no use. Weyard was a big place. They had to trust their kids could find their own way.  _ Thank Sol they came back. _

As they approached the bush the sound of rustling branches ceased and was replaced by deep and loud breathing. Even in the darkness Garet could make out the silhouette of a large beast maybe ten feet high.  _ Whatever’s in there isn’t too subtle. _

Suddenly Garet felt a familiar pang in his chest. There was a vortex nearby. That was to be expected. The Mourning Moon was upon them.  _ We’ll need to deal with whatever this is quickly. _

Just as it always seemed to in the stillness that preceded a clash his anxiety dissipated. In its place was steady focus. In his mind he repeated the familiar words. The ones taught to him by Ivan’s older sister Hama all those years ago.  _ Breathing steady. Hands dry. Mind cleared. Now it comes. _

Out of the bush rushed a great bear deep navy in hue with crimson eyes and matted blood-stained fur. Behind it two skeletons with pitch black bones and thin jagged swords bit their teeth loudly. Tattered rags hung off their ribs.  _ With the vortex this may be as much as we can handle. Hopefully the kids learned a lot. _

“No psynergy!” Garet shouted before the fight.  _ If they try it they might miss and with the vortex so close they might be drained completely.  _ The bear rushed the middle two warriors, Karis and Matt, and swiped wildly. Ducking and dodging, Matt and Karis backed up rapidly to try and gain position on it. The skeletons squared off against Garet and his son. One took a wild swing at Garet, gravely. The next one Garet would meet with his own swing expecting to dislodge the skeleton's sword or arm.

Garet’s blow was met by the skeleton’s blade and to his dismay the skeleton maintained its position. The aftershock sent reverberations through Garet’s own bones. Confusion was followed by sudden understanding which was again followed by confusion.  _ A shadow beast. But how can this be? The eclipse is over… _

Garet parried two quick blows by the monster and jumped back to get a view of the kids. Matt and Karis had landed a few scrapes on the bear and seemed unharmed. Tyrell was holding his own against his skeleton. A bit more confident in their ability to hold their own, he turned back to the shadow skeleton which was charging him.

Ducking a swipe, Garet kicked his foot out at the ribs. It flew backwards. Before Garet could finish it the beast jumped up again and blocked his strikes. They dueled for a while and Garet struggled to find an opening.  _ This is harder than I expected. Time to try the kick again. _

Garet allowed the monster to strike and ducked the blow again while darting his boot outward into the skeleton’s ribs. Pulling his foot backwards, he found it was tangled with the skeleton's rags and bones causing him to fall on his back pulling the skeleton on top of him. Man and beast dropped their swords in the fall. Out of a sheath at its hip the skeleton pulled a dagger.  _ Out of options. _

A blast of fire formed in Garet’s fist and blew the dark bone man into a thousand pieces, just before it met Garet’s throat. Garet cried out in pain. He felt the world spinning around him and dimming rapidly. Rolling over he saw the bear and other skeleton defeated. Matt was helping Karis to stand but they all seemed safe. Garet tried to stand up and crashed to the ground.

He heard a voice, “Dad!” Tyrell rushed towards him. Behind him was a deep purple light and a low humming sound. Dark armoured soldiers landed with dull thuds onto the earth around them. The chill night and combative shouting was replaced by unfeeling and soundless black.

* * *

He woke up warm and vaguely content. He saw a shape laid next to him. The face of a beaming woman looked back at him. Her hair was golden and her eyes the colour of the sky. Her presence was quiet. His mouth moved but no words came out.  _ Ellie… _

She faded. Colors and shapes whirled around his head gradually turning into familiar structures. A carpet. A lamp. A man.

He found himself lying in a bed in some sort of tiny hovel. Around him were old oaken walls and a warm hearth blazed in the corner.

An unfamiliar voice, “Garet, how are you feeling?”

A young man with a concerned look stood over him. His hair was dark brown and in a warrior’s bun. He was garbed in deep red and silver armour and a blade hung at his hip. Hanging from his breast plate was a silver medallion with the Nihan character for warrior.  _ A samurai. _

Garet sat up. He felt unconcerned with the man’s question or its answer, “What’s a man from Yamata doing in this Sol forsaken crater?”

The man smirked at Garet’s disregard. “I guess I’ll just assume you’re okay.”

He looked familiar, Garet decided. He quickly ran through the men and women he knew from the island of Nihan.  _ There’s not many… _

“My name is Takeru. You may know my parent’s: Susa and Kushinada, the leaders of Yamata City.”

_Ahh, that’s where you’re from._ Garet felt relief relax him. This was a man he could trust. “I remember you. You were a boy the last time I saw you. Maybe eight or nine.” Garet didn’t make it to Nihan often.

Garet remembered Takeru called him by name earlier, “And I take it you already know who I am?”

Takeru nodded, “Yes. Your son and his friends are safe. They’re out collecting firewood. Do you remember what happened before you went out?”

Garet struggled to recollect. “I remember getting tangled with the shadow skeleton. I had to use psynergy to get the thing off me. And then… shouting… dark beasts surrounded us. Or soldiers?”

“Soldiers,” Takeru agreed. “Tuaparang men. I don’t know why they were there but I know that they’re cowards. They must have lured you in towards the vortex with the monsters then struck when you were weak.”

“And then you came?”

“Ya,” Takeru agreed again. “They scatter quickly when they have to face a fresh fighter. Back to their ship and away.”

Takeru was visibly disgusted at the thought of them.  _ Good to have someone on our side out here. _

Garet looked around at the room. Beside the hearth was a dusty and empty, save for a few clothes and dried food, book shelf. “Where are we?”

“Some abandoned hovel. A hermit must have lived here.”

“Isaac and I occasionally saw wanderers in the crater. Harmless. But strange.”

Takeru nodded. Garet looked at him and abruptly the obvious question came back to him, “Takeru, what are you  _ doing  _ out here?”

The samurai chuckled at the absurdity. “Same thing you’re doing. Looking for Isaac. I found him. He’ll be okay. Can you stand?”

Garet laughed loudly as he felt deep relief. Takeru smiled meekly. Then his mind raced.  _ Takeru Looking for Isaac? How could he even know Isaac needed looking for? What did he mean Isaac will be okay? _

Under the wool blankets Garet’s body stirred and movement returned to his limbs. He felt healthy. Takeru and the kids must have taken good care of him. In short order he was standing and back to normal. He took in the room and the daylight shining in from the hovel’s small fogged window.

“Well where is he?”

Takeru motioned towards a bed on the other end of the room. On it Isaac laid face up, motionless, and breathing deeply. His eyes were closed and face pale. He was dressed in his undershirt and his hair was damp with sweat. Garet immediately recognized the slumber as something worse than sleep.

“Is he wounded?”

Takeru shook his head, “Nothing I can see at least. There’s a few scrapes and cuts but nothing serious.”

“So he’s sick? We have to get him to Patcher’s Place or Kalay. Do you have any idea what it is?” Garet himself began to feel sick.

The Yamata warrior looked sad and a little nervous. “I found him this way. My sister… Himi, do you know her?”

Garet recalled the small seer daughter of Susa and Kushinada from the kid’s story of their quest. “I know of her. My son’s companion.”

“Then you know she was gifted with the third eye. She has visions. I don’t know if you know, but before she left with Matthew she experienced visions of Isaac in danger. And my aunt… Uzume?” Takeru looked at Garet inquiringly.

Garet remembered Uzume. A prophet and the sister of Susa. She had died years earlier in Nihan’s tragic flood. Garet was never particularly chummy with her. The two had very different personalities. But he respected and admired her a great deal. “I knew her.”

Takeru continued, “She prophesied that I would one day help the Warriors of Vale. So when Himi told us her visions we knew – I knew – what I had to do. I took a trade ship to Tolbi and hiked north towards the great mountain immediately. Towards your cabin.”

Garet was aghast. “You traveled during the eclipse?”

Takeru looked at his feet and nodded. “I did a lot of hiding. Then I got to the crater and I knew Isaac was there because that’s where he was in Himi’s vision. At the foot of the great mountain. Mount Aleph is it?”

“Aye. He was trying to get into Sol Sanctum. Where the elemental stars were once kept. He had visions too.”

“And that’s where I found him. At the foot of the mountain unconscious but without enemies nearby. I started to make my way back but it was slow going in the crater with him as my load. He looked worse each day. So a few nights ago I found this hovel and made shelter. I infused some of my psynergy to him to make him live. It seems to work. I don’t know why though.”

Garet kicked himself hard. He knew he shouldn’t have let Isaac go alone. Especially with the Mourning Moon at hand.  _ The sickness must be related to it. What else could it be? _

He pulled himself from his own head and glanced at Takeru. The samurai looked very solemn and very sorry. This was a good man. A man who risked his life to save a stranger’s. “Thank you Takeru. Know that we can never repay you or your sister for this.”

The two warriors shook hands. Garet thought again that it was good to have Takeru on his side. He couldn’t help but feel it was more than good luck that brought Takeru to Isaac in time.

Garet looked at Isaac. He got the feeling that his best friend was fighting a battle. It made Garet feel ready to fight too. Garet always went with Isaac. Ever since they were boys.  _ Through all the hardships and all the battles I was always able to help. Sometimes my help didn’t help all that much. But I was always able to stand beside him.  _

And Isaac was always there by Garet’s side. Unbidden his thoughts drifted to the Mourning Moons of his past when Isaac stood by his side. His mind replayed the memory, the dark memory. He remembered the black pulsating vortexes and the screaming, fleeing people. He remembered his wife’s words and he remembered so well how she looked before she died. 

Someone told him once that when the mind replays a memory too many times the details become muddled. Where details are lost the mind invents new ones to take his place. It made him sad to think that he might not truly remember what she said.

But he knew he remembered that the first person who was there after it happened, the person to pull him out of the fray, was Isaac. Isaac was there for him that day. Garet would be there today.


	5. After the Storm

Belinsk was quiet after the festivities ended. All night the golden beastmen of the city shot brilliant flashes of light into the starry sky and Vande's band played songs of victory. For the beastman, the eclipse had been a war. After years of oppression they had driven out the Sanans, only to be in the darkest part of a continental disaster.  _ A disaster that we started,  _ thought Sveta as she remembered the events at the Alchemy Dynamo beneath the city. She remembered being manipulated by the Tuaparang into activating the Eclipse Tower.

Her fists clenched and then relaxed when she remembered that it was over. Both the lamentations and the festivities. It was all over. Including the quest. Including her time with her companions.

Sveta and Matthew stood alone together on the south wall of the city. They looked out at the vast plains of Morgal. The plains that the beastmen had wandered in packs before her father united the clans and created the Kingdom. The Kingdom which she was now in charge of. She shuddered at the thought.

She looked up and Matthew who smiled at her. She smiled back. She  _ knew  _ the darkness was over. But looking at him made her  _ feel  _ it.

* * *

A bitter cold fog slowly crept over the water and into the city. In late fall the vapours that came off the great Morgal Bay chilled the bones of man and beastman alike. The ancient stone floor of Belinsk captured the cold and permeated it throughout the city. Often the fog would give way to vicious hail storms off the bay. Frozen pellets of ice pelted the fortress city chasing its citizens inside their stone walls with only a hearth and whatever dry wood they had left to warm them.

Sveta stood at the city square absorbing the cold. She was donned in a royal dress and around her stood beastmen nobles and guards in a royal procession. _ A gloomy day for such fanfare,  _ Sveta thought as she tried to keep her teeth from chattering in the cold.

Sveta remembered that as she thought it strange to situate the great beastman city on such an unwelcoming and cold bay. The wild called to her, as it did all beastmen. Her father, the king, would explain that the ruins of old Belinsk couldn’t be moved and that they provided defense for the city. Volechek, her brother, talked about how the beastmen nation could only become powerful through trade and that the bay provided opportunity. But her mother would just sigh. Sveta always felt that her mother was the only one like her. They were both unconcerned with matters of politics and war. It was these things that seemed to drive her father’s mind to the edge of chaos, and her brother after him.

It wasn’t always like that though. Sveta remembered the good times. Before the war, before the ten year long nightmare that followed it. The happiest times were the times spent away from the city and its cold walls. Sveta’s parents would often take them on long hikes into the country of Morgal. They would spend weeks travelling as far west as the Border River between Bilibin and Morgal and as far east as Port Rago and the Great Eastern Sea. Time spent in the wilderness was essential for any beastmen, and it had always been particularly important for Sveta.

Sveta’s mother always had a glow during these trips. Those were the only times Sveta could remember her being truly happy. She got along better with Sveta’s father than she ever had during the months spent in cold Belinsk. She was sharper and more capable. Sveta’s father enjoyed the trips as well, but Sveta suspected that the problems of his nation never ceased to torture him, even in the remotest of woods and plains. Sveta now understood that this aspect of her father was passed to Volechek.  _ It killed them, both of them,  _ she realized.

To Sveta’s relief one of her advisors broke her depressing train of thought, “Shall we wait for him in the palace?”

_For General Roman we can suffer waiting in the cold,_ she thought. The royal procession was waiting for Sveta’s chief general to arrive with nomad survivors of the Grave Eclipse from around Morgal. Beastmen of Morgal were a strong race and many nomads, despite being caught in the open without walls to hide behind, survived the calamity that was the eclipse. General Roman was sent to collect the survivors and bring them to Belinsk. Sveta wanted to show her people that Morgal was battered but not broken. The end of the eclipse could mean war, as Bilibin and Sana might perceive Morgal to be weak. Trying times were ahead and Sveta needed her people to be united and poised. Her advisors suggested a display of strength for the people.

“They’ll arrive soon. We’ll wait here at the square”, Sveta answered her advisor after a short silence.

“Yes your highness”, the advisor responded to Sveta’s great discomfort.  _ There’s no getting used to that,  _ she thought.

Sveta’s thoughts were free to wander again. With a melancholy heart she couldn’t stop her mind from producing the happiest of memories which in turn sunk her heart deeper into depression. One came to mind again. The one that always came to mind. Somehow she recalled it more vividly each time it came. Her mother sat on a rock fishing on a quiet stream. Her father and Volechek play wrestled nearby. Sveta played pretend to herself before she stopped to look across the stream at the setting sun. There was a doe and her three fawns following behind.

And that was it. The perfect memory of her family. Unattached to the problems of the city. Perfectly in tune with the wild. Sveta thought that even more beautiful than the peace of the moment was the fact that her entire family was truly happy and whole.

But they were taken away from her. Her father, mother, and Volechek. They all died violent deaths. Sveta was alone. The one who had no choice but to continue the story of the Czmaral clan. To rule was never her desire, but now it was her responsibility. Duty trapped her inside the city.

She was gloomier than she had been since long before her great adventure. The adventure that took her through the darkest of times for her nation: the Grave Eclipse. Through all its adversity and hardship she experienced real happiness. For the first time since those treks into the woods with her family, she felt belonging. But now, like a wisp of smoke, it was all gone. Again. Shortly after her inauguration her friends went to their homes.

A horn sounded. Roman was marking his arrival with the traditional beastman horn blast. Sveta quickly tried to get a hold of herself. Shame washed over her.  _ Why do I feel sorry for myself? It’s useless. And selfish,  _ she coached herself. For the thousandth time she told herself,  _ Morgal first. _

The guards slowly opened Belinsk’s massive stone gate. General Roman was the first one through the doors. He was clad in an iron chest piece and leather armour covering his arms and legs. At his hip was a thin sword. Underneath his army his fur was light brown streaked with grey. Two long ears pointed out of his helmet, one of them half gone from battle. Despite his age, Sveta guessed he was around sixty, his walk was confident and powerful.

When he approached Sveta could see that his eyes betrayed his deep exhaustion. However his pale green eyes were hard to read, they always seemed to convey a vague weariness or mistrust. The beastman was a true warrior; one who had given his entire life to the country. He was a loyal commander in Volechek’s army and Sveta’s father’s before him. He fought in both wars against Sana and was integral to Volcheck’s success at overthrowing the Sanans.

Sveta respected the man and was grateful for what he did but she could not help disliking him. He was too quick to violence. Perhaps fighting two wars and witnessing ten years of occupation turned him into what he was now, a ruthless defender of his people. Sveta suspected that his influence encouraged Volechek to activate the Luna Tower.  _ They thought they were defending us but they only brought more death,  _ Sveta thought. 

Behind Roman marched hundreds of beastmen survivors with more outside the city. Not all could fit inside Belinsk’s city square. Some were still outside the city's wall. More still weren't even in Morgal. There was word that beastman refugees escaped to Biligin and Goma beyond, through Grey Brook Pass. The gap in the mountains that connected Goma, Matthew's land, to Bilibin. 

She looked the survivors up and down. Most wore the beggars’ cloaks and were gaunt. Sveta had seen survivors of the eclipse during her travel and by outward appearances her people looked the same. It was plain that they had seen a lot of pain. During the months of darkness life was hard to come by but death was in abundance. But they did not look broken. Many were grieving the loss of family but they were not broken. Looking back at her Sveta saw one thing rising above all the pain, determination.  _ This is what makes Morgal great. This is why we survived two wars, slavary, and now the Grave Eclipse.  _ For the first time in two long Sveta’s spirits lifted with an almost forgotten emotion: hope. She could be a good queen. Morgal would survive whatever hardship was to come next.  _ It has to. _

Roman approached and saluted his Queen and Sveta saluted back. It was not the beastmen way to bow before royalty. Beastmen bowed to no one. Instead the greeting was the same regardless of status. The Queen saluted the farmer just as the farmer saluted the Queen: the right fist over the heart.

Roman’s pale eyes met Sveta’s gaze, “My queen, your presence honours us.”

“The survivors of the darkness deserve all the honour a queen can bestow,” Sveta remarked. She could not help but give Roman the hint of a smile despite the dreariness of the day. It was not returned. 

Roman squinted, “Billish scouts are prowling Hunters River near Bordertown. Our spies have indicated siege weapons being built in Lord McCoy’s yard.”

“I never ordered spies to be sent to Bilibin.” 

Sveta felt she was continually losing her grip on her advisors and generals alike. They presumed to make decisions for her. Sveta was not trusted yet due to her youth. Despite being ruler of Morgal in name and title Sveta had to assert her power. Such was the beastmen way. 

“As I said before I left, they will attack. The time for war has come. We must not wait for them to strike first,” Roman said.  _ He’s waiting for me to address my people. _

All the nervousness and anticipation for the moment rushed through her body and before she realized what was happening she heard her own voice speak loudly to her people.

“I do not think that it is praise and pageantry the survivors of the darkness came here for. What I see in you is strength. You have endured the worst of times. And prevailed. Morgal has suffered. We have lost our king. We have lost countless beastmen. Mothers and fathers, wives and husbands, children and friends. Echoes of war spread like wildfire through our nation. I cannot bring your loved ones back. I cannot prevent an invasion. Instead what I offer to you is what I have seen in you: strength. But alone my strength is nothing, it is together that we prevail. And we  _ will.  _ As we always have.”

Sveta understood well what beastmen responded to and that was strength. The only way to hold a beastman nation was through demonstrable strength. And words without action demonstrated nothing. _That’s why beastmen love a short speech. But it still didn’t feel natural._ _I wonder if I’ll ever feel more queen than wildling._

  
  



	6. A Father's Son

Branches snapped easily against the weight and edge of Matthew’s hatchet. Branches from the crater bushes were thin and bonelike with knots and nobs. It didn’t rain often in the crater which meant thirsty vegetation. Dry leaves of deep oranges and reds cracked satisfyingly as Matthew trotted through the bush to get at the thicker base branches of the bush.  _ Autumn has arrived. _

It was a beautiful day to be outside chopping. Not a vortex in sight. The sun was warm but the breeze chilly enough to warrant a thin coat. Matthew allowed the joy and beauty of the day to wash over him. Takeru saving them from the Tuaparang and finding out his father was alive had given Matthew new life. He was confident his father would be okay. He had survived worse.  _ Takeru says Himi will be able to help him. _

As one of Matthew’s companions he was of course fond of Himi but she was a hard one to really get to know. Matthew never made a deeper connection with her like he did with some of the others.  _ We’re both quiet,  _ Matthew reflected.

Regardless, he had complete faith in her. She led them to the Umbra Gear. Without it they never would have been able to stop Spados and Chalis. Matthew wasn’t sure whether they stopped Alex or just played into his hand. He shrugged off the uneasy feeling.

Karis seemed to be enjoying herself too. Her emerald hair was out of its usual ponytail and she hacked swiftly and efficiently at the dehydrated branches. Even Tyrell looked better than before. From the cathartic swings of his hatchet, the bush branches were taking the worse beating of all. His mood seemed to increase the further they got away from any psynergy vortex. Matthew shuddered to think about the reason Tyrell hated them the most.

Karis put her hatchet in her belt. “Alright I’ve got just about as much as I can carry. Head back?”

Matthew followed suit and Tyrell nodded. “Should be enough to last until my dad wakes up then we can get the hell away from here and to Kalay.”

That was the plan. To keep the hovel, Takeru found warm until Garet woke up, headed to Kalay with Isaac, then on a ship for Nihan where Himi would help Matthew’s dad. Matthew had decided a while ago that he wouldn’t be going with them. When they found his dad Matthew knew he had to finish what Isaac started.  _ There’s a reason he risked his life to go and someone has to find out what it was.  _ For a second Matthew thought about telling Tyrell and Karis.  _ Better to wait till we get back. _

Although not easy on the feet, the hike back to Takeru’s hovel was pleasant. The conversation bounced easily from reminiscing to musing about when they could return to visit their friends.

In a sudden movement Tyrell dropped his firewood, stopped his forward motion and bounded dangerously to the edge of a nearby short cliff. He peered over the edge. Karis shook her head silently. With slow planned steps Matthew followed Tyrell’s path through the crags towards the cliff’s edge. He kneeled in front of Tyrell and looking down he saw a vortex the size of a large rat, about five yards below them.

Suddenly Matthew felt a warm air blow over his left shoulder and saw a crimson gale blow into the vortex. It pulsated wildly as the psynergy attack was sucked in. He turned around to see Tyrell with a slight grin.

“What was that about?” Karis asked now also at the cliff.

“Experimenting,” Tyrell answered.

The Mars adept picked up a rock the size of his palm. He dropped it on the vortex. It glanced off the side of the vortex and with loud crackling its motion was accelerated away from the black hole downwards towards the bottom of the cliff.

Karis frowned, “We really shouldn’t be wasting time.”

“I’m not. I already said, I’m _experimenting_ ,” a smiling Tyrell suddenly bounded back away from the cliff and grabbed a small handful of shale. Back at the cliff he showered the vortex in the tiny grains of soft stone. As the grains approached the vortex some bounced off with smaller crackling noises. However to Matthew’s astonishment some of the shale fragments were silently sucked into the vortex where they disappeared.

Karis seemed to be similarly amazed, “How…”

Tyrell smiled triumphantly, “I noticed it before my dad went down fighting the shadow beasts last night. We couldn’t use psynergy so close to the vortex so I kicked dirt into the skeleton's face. Some of it was sucked into the vortex.”

Matthew couldn’t help but return Tyrell’s smile, “That is bizarre.”

“So we know psynergy gets sucked into the vortex, but matter too? That’s new. How has no one ever figured this out?” Karis mused.

Matthew ran a handful of shale through his fingers. It slid lightly and easily, “It’s probably because shale is light. The last Mourning Moon was near Kalay where the earth is heavy. Before that it was in the mountains, same thing there. There was no chance to see this happen because there was no shale.”

Karis nodded, “We’ll have to tell Kraden about this when we see him.”

Tyrell interjected, “You mean I’ll have to tell him. Don’t go taking credit.” Karis chortled reluctantly. Finally the group headed back towards Garet and Takeru.

At the hovel Takeru and Garet met them outside. The group dropped the fire wood into a pile. From the outside it looked just like a mound of dirt with a small wooden door. It astounded Matthew to think that someone had dug it out and built a functioning chimney. _Who could possibly have been traversing the crater so effectively?_ The existence of the hovel was not the least of the things that worried Matthew. Someone traveled the crater long enough and well enough to build an entire home all right under the nose of Isaac and Garet. _Who knows what else, or who else, is out here._ _Even Takeru was a surprise…_

Takeru was still donning his full warrior’s armour. Garet looked healthier than he did before the run in with the shadow beasts. His hands were on his hips and he smiled as if to soak in the glorious sun.

Tyrell embraced his father, “You’re up.”

“Ya, I guess we won’t need the firewood,” Garet laughed.

“There’s no point staying here any longer. We still have a good half the day to start hiking back to the cabin. With Isaac unconscious it will be slow going,” Takeru addressed the group seriously.

Garet nodded, “We can’t waste time getting to Himi.”

Karis agreed and immediately went into the hovel to pack her things. Matthew knew that it was now or never. He sighed, “Wait.”

Everyone looked at Matthew. As they took in his tone their faces became concerned. He stood in agonizing silence.  _ How can I possibly convince them that I need to do this? They’ll think I’m crazy. _

Matthew’s eyes met Karis’. “What is it?” she asked.

He breathed in deeply. “I can’t go with you. I have to go to Sol Sanctum.”

Everyone was too aghast to speak. Except for Tyrell. “What are you talking about?”

Matthew looked at his feet. “I can’t go with you to Yamata City. There was a reason my dad went out here. And I have to find out why.”

Garet shook his head. “No,” he said shortly.

“Garet…”, Matthew started.

“This is ridiculous,” Garet cut Matthew off.

Matthew suppressed a flash of anger. “You told us he had visions of the Wise One in danger. He went out alone during the  _ eclipse.  _ It was obviously important. Your duty is to protect Weyard, and now that’s our duty too.”

Garet stared silently. Karis ran her hand through her hair. “Maybe you’re right. But you don’t have to go alone,” she said.

“We’ll go with you,” Tyrell looked resolute.

There was no way of reaching Sol Sanctum on foot anymore. Isaac had tried and failed. Matthew knew he had to take the soarwing, and that meant he had to go alone. “I’m going to take the soarwing.”

Sudden understanding became etched on all of their faces. They knew only one could go. Calmly Garet spoke, “I was so concerned with Isaac I didn’t think…”

He trailed off for a moment and then continued steadily, “You are right Matt. Someone does need to go. But not you. It’s too dangerous. I’ll take the soarwing.”

Matthew shook his head, “You said that in Isaac’s visions a doe led him to Sol Sanctum?”

Garet nodded.

“The day before we got to the cabin I had a vision of a doe. It led me to a cave and I found this.” He plumaged through his pack until he felt the cold rough copper medallion.

The older Mars adept inspected it rubbing his fingers over the foreign inscriptions, “Markings I’ve never seen.”

Now it was Garet’s turn to rummage through his pack. From it he produced a small piece of parchment. He passed it to Matthew. There were similar markings. Almost identical.

“Isaac drew this after a vision once. While you were gone.”

The doe and now the markings. Matthew knew it had to be him, “Whatever – whoever – was calling Isaac to Sol Sanctum… they’re calling me now.”

But Garet had all the stubbornness of any Mars adept, “And how do you know that’s a  _ good  _ thing Matt? You can’t go. Believe me all I want to do is make sure Isaac is safe and you’re right, someone has to go to Sol Sanctum. I’ll just have to trust you to take care of Isaac. I’ll go.”

Matthew loved Garet like an uncle.  _ What do I say? _

Karis jumped in, “You can’t just ignore Isaac's visions. I don’t want Matthew to either.” She pauses, “But we shouldn’t stop him.”

“We’ll follow on foot,” Tyrell said, desperate not to abandon his friend.

“It’s too dangerous. Garet, I’ll be fine. Isaac tried to go on foot. With the soarwing… It’ll be fine,” Matthew said.

Garet looked at his son. Finally, he conceded defeat, “I won’t stop you Matt. Just please be careful. Meet us on the road to Kalay as soon as you’re done.”

Karis looked worried, “We’ll wait till we know you can fly the thing.”

Matthew nodded and went to retrieve the soarwing. His eyes briefly met Takeru’s as he walked into the hovel. He hadn’t interjected at all.  _ A silent man,  _ Matthew thought. In the hovel the soarwing was leaning against the empty bookshelf. Karis had done an admirable job fixing it. He ran his fingers through the threads of the giant roc feather that made the left wing of the soarwing. The feather they retrieved from halfway across the continent. He put one hand around either yellow rod that connected the roc feather to the back part of the soarwing and carefully carried it out of the hovel.

“You already know the controls, right?” Garet asked.

“Right,” Matthew had been learning to fly the soarwing just before they left. He had taken a number of small flights around the cabin but never higher than fifteen feet.

“Okay let’s see if you remember.”

Tyrell and Karis helped hook the soarwing onto Matthew’s chest. Three criss-crossing straps went from one side of the soarwing, around Matthew, and to the other side of the soarwing.

“Tight?” Tyrell asked.

Matthew nodded. His hands clutched two steering rods that protruded from the soarwing. He focused his mind and felt his psynergy become infused with the soarwing. The soarwing was powerless without an adept to fly it. Its fuel was psynergy just like a Lemurian ship.  _ That’s why it’s so taxing to fly,  _ Matthew thought.

Matthew gave the wings a strong flap and was in the air. Each flap took more out of Matthew until he was in the sky. Now he could glide. He circled the hovel very gradually losing altitude. This was Matthew’s favourite part of flying. The effortless and weightless feeling of skating on air.

“Good,” Garet said.

“Certainly better than Tyrell,” Karis jested. They all laughed, even Tyrell.

Matthew looked at his friends, “I guess it’s time. We have to make sure Isaac gets to Himi as soon as possible.”

“Yes,” Garet agreed. “Matt, you know I trust you right? I’m just worried.”

Matthew felt relieved, “Of course. Can you help me with my bags?” He glanced at his packs unable to tie them to the soarwing while all strapped in. Tyrell, Karis, and Takeru immediately secured his things. Matthew’s friends gave him long looks.  _ Now it’s time to say goodbye. _

Takeru offered his hand which Matthew gladly shook, “It was honour to meet you Matthew.”

“You too.”

Looking at the samurai seemed to remind Matthew suddenly of Yamata City. He fondly recalled Himi and the Yamatan’s hospitality, “Please give your sister and your parents my greetings.” 

Takeru nodded. Abruptly Tyrell gave Matthew a firm hug, “You know I'd go with you right?”

Matthew nodded. Next Karis embraced Matthew while whispering, “Be safe.”

Lastly Garet and Matthew hugged silently. Matthew took a running start and with a strong burst psynergy flew into the day. With increasing height, the midday sun shined hot against his neck. He glanced back one last time to see his friends waving. Turning away his eyes became focused on one thing. The bright point of amber light that bathed Angara and all of Weyard. With each flap it grew the smallest bit brighter and the smallest bit closer. He soared to the Golden Sun.


	7. The Mercury Clan

Mia trudged through a thick layer of snow between old cabins. She wore a blue coat lined with wolf fur. Underneath were her cleric's robes, in the traditional white and blues of the Mercury Clan. At her back, her ankh was strapped. The cold wind blew against her uncovered face. She envied her friends Jenna and Garet, who never seemed to be cold. Chimneys billowed smoke into the night sky, melting the ice that formed along the cabins' stone walls. She encountered no one on her walk, the autumn air was too cold.

The snow had already begun in Imil. The northern tip of Angara, or White Point as the trappers called it, had short summers and even shorter autumns. In the old days, before the Golden Sun Event, the winter came with viscous illnesses. First the lighthouse began to flow with Herme's healing water and then the Golden Sun Event wiped out the colds. The people in Imil were grateful for the event, unlike the rest of Angara. 

Before it happened, Imil was the only settlement in all of the White Point. It survived only because of the diligence of Mia and Alex. Alex, her cousin whose mother was Mia's aunt.  _ Where is he now,  _ Mia wondered about Alex. The last time she had seen him was at the Mercury Lighthouse.  _ When he betrayed the clan,  _ Mia thought.

Few days went by, even thirty years later, where Mia didn't wonder  _ why  _ he left.  _ Why  _ he betrayed the clan. Rief's tale of his quest, the story of what happened at Apollo's Lens just intrigued her more. Was this Arcanus truly Alex? Working with the Tuaparang agents? And this Ayuthayan Prince, the companion of Rief, was he truly Alex's son? She had to meet him and his uncle. The Ayuthayan King may understand something of Alex's motivation. 

The clan's mission had been to protect the lighthouse from intrusion. Mia, and her father before her, believed this meant protecting it from ever being ignited. Her mission, Isaac's mission, made her believe otherwise. The ancestors of the Mercury Clan surely meant it to be ignited, just by the right people. Mia wished she could speak to them directly. She wished to know what they intended for the clan.  _ I suppose that's for me to decide now,  _ she thought.

As she walked the streets she saw the remnants of old barricades. The daily reminders of the Eclipse. Spikes made of spruce trees and whatever metal and stone the Imilians could muster in the barren north lined the perimeter of the village. The corpses of the monstrous Shadow Beasts had been cleared from the walls and the Imilians were starting to take down the barricades. It was a long process.

The shroud of the Grave Eclipse had reached Imil and the Mercury Lighthouse. For the Imilians, there was no escape. To move further south meant to get close to the Eclipse's source, to more dangerous lands. The north and east were blocked by the Great Eastern Sea. The only way was West, towards Prox and the Northern Wastes. That was a treacherous path, even in the summer. Mia had only attempted it once. It was no way to take the elderly and children of Imil.

Instead the Imilians had to stay put. The Mercury Clan protected them, healed them, trained them, and armed them for the fight against the beasts. Still, too many villagers lost their lives in the fight. Mia passed by a massive rusty bear trap just outside the village. Mia's husband and Rief's father, Crown, was an accomplished trapper. His traps seemed to work on the Shadow Beasts even. They had probably saved many lives.

Finally, Mia stopped at her grandparents house. They were not her true grandparents, but they were the ones who raised her after her father's death. Mia had been five and Alex fifteen. Mia's father and Alex's mother, who were brother and sister, were both killed in an attack. Mia still didn't know the whole story. There were many secrets in her family. Secrets which Alex seemed to know.  _ Perhaps they guide him,  _ she wondered.

Mia's grandparents were gone as well. They had died of old age after the Golden Sun Event. Justin and Megan, Mia's old apprentices, occupied the house with their children. Mia rapped on the door. Dirk, the older boy, rushed to open it. The cabin's main room was dimly lit by a blazing hearth. Behind Dirk, Justin and his younger children were at the table, Kim and Michael. All three had the pale skin and light hair of their parents. Mia wondered if they'd be Mercury Adepts as well.

“Aunt Mia!” Dirk shouted and hugged her. Mia walked in quickly and shut the door behind her to keep the chill night out. She smiled at the boy and hugged him back. Justin and Megan's family was family to Mia as well. They were part of the Mercury Clan. Mia had often marveled at the emergence of Justin and Megan. Two mercury Adepts in a time when no Adepts outside Mia's family had been seen in Imil for hundreds of years. Their powers were too timely for coincidence, they came in a time of strife and change.

Justin stood up, “Mia, come and eat.”

Megan was nowhere inside. _ Megan still hasn't come home yet,  _ Mia thought.  _ He looks stressed.  _ With a word from his father, Dirk returned to the table. Mia hesitated at the door. She smiled at Justin. “I've eaten,” she lied.

“Let me talk to your aunty. Finish your dinner,” Justin said to his children who reluctantly complied. He walked over to the entrance and motioned for Mia to sit on the cushioned wooden seats near the door, on the other side of the room of the table and fireplace.

“She hasn't returned,” Mia said in a hushed voice so as not to alert the children. She thought she already knew the answer.  _ But maybe... _

“No,” Justin let the stress of it show more now that the kids weren't watching. His head sunk and he stared at his wool socks. “She's been gone for almost three days now. We have to go look for her.”

Megan had left to go to the Lighthouse to bring a load of Hermes Water back to the people of Imil. But the trip was only a single day’s journey there and back. Mia sighed. “I'll leave in the morning. I'll find her. Don't worry Justin,” she said.

She put a hand on his shoulder. In a flash Mia recalled tutoring him when he was just a boy. She remembered practicing Ply and Frost with him in the snows around Imil.

He raised his head to meet Mia's eyes. “I'll come too,” he said.

Mia shook her head. “What about the children?”

“I'll leave them with Megan's parents. They'll probably be happier there. I haven't exactly been able to give them my full attention,” Justin said.

“You're their father. They need you,” Mia said.

“She needs me, Mia. She's my wife,” Justin said firmly. 

Mia knew he wouldn't be swayed. “Alright,” she said, “We'll leave in the morning. Pack your things tonight.”

Justin agreed. He got up and began clearing the wooden plates and bowls from the table. Mia and his younger children helped. She hugged Justin and the children goodbye and turned to go. They reminded her so much of Mia's own children at that age.

Mia's thoughts turned to Rief and Nowell as she trudged back through the snowy pathways of Imil to her cabin. Rief had finally come home after his journey. After the horrors of the Grave Eclipse had finally ended. He somehow felt guilty about them, as if they were somehow his fault. In a strange way, he shared that with his mother, who had inadvertently caused disasters when she took part in the return of Alchemy to Weyard so many years ago. Mia heard the tale, and she knew the blame for the terrible Eclipse fell sorely on the mysterious Tuaparang agents. 

She wished she could find them. She wished she could confront them for all the horrors they caused her son and her people.  _ And for what?  _ She wished she could take the hurt away from Rief, as she had done when he was just a boy who fell on the frozen Imil river. She smiled at the memory.

And Nowell. Mia's sweet, bright daughter. Mia had no idea where she was. She only knew where Kraden last saw her. The old scholar had entrusted her with Mia's old companion Piers. To get her away from the Eclipse. Surely she would be safe with Piers. _ But why hasn't he brought her home yet? _

Mia arrived at her home. The old wooden cabin that stood at the edge of Imil. Smoke rose from it's chimney. Inside, her husband and son slept. Low ferns surrounded the cabin. Its roof was a combination of golden hay thatching and dark brown, almost black, shingles. The deep red wood of the Fever Pines made up its walls. Fever Pines hadn't grown on the White Point since long before Mia was born. The cabin was hundreds of years old.

It was well kept, by the Mercury Clan. It had been Mia's childhood home. Where she was raised by her father before he died. After, it was Alex's home in the days when he trained Mia. He was more than a cousin to her. More than a brother even. He was a mentor, a teacher, and the only family Mia had from when she was five to when Isaac arrived in Imil and changed their lives forever.

“I've missed this place,” a voice came from behind her.  _ That voice... it can't be.  _ She turned to see the shadowy outline of a figure glimmered in the shadows.  _ Psynergy,  _ Mia thought. It was dark, but not dark enough to cloak yourself completely. Mia had seen Psynergy like this before, used to conceal yourself in the shadows.

“Show yourself,” Mia demanded.

In a shimmer the outline disappeared and was replaced by a living breathing man standing in front of her. Alex. He looked different, his face was wrinkled slightly with age, his eyes were colder, almost brighter somehow. He didn't wear the Mercury Clan garments. Instead he had a simple black cloak and hood. But Mia had no doubt, this was her cousin. Her betrayer.

So many thoughts vied for presidency in Mia's mind. She hadn't seen Alex in thirty years. There were so many questions she wanted answers for. What to ask? Or should she protect herself? Was he dangerous? Then she remembered the pain of the Eclipse, so fresh in her memory. All she could feel, flushing out everything else, was anger. He could have stopped it. He knowingly allowed it to happen. All the pain, all the death. Her son's guilt.

She wanted to fight him. She almost wanted to kill him. Mia hadn't felt this way before. She was always the collected one. She was the one to calm down everyone else. She steadied herself. She cleared her mind. She wouldn't fight him, simply because she couldn't. It wasn't an option, he was too powerful. Fighting would mean losing, and losing could mean problems for her family, and for her people. She couldn't know what to expect from him.

“Why are you here?” she struggled not to betray her rage.

He pulled down his hood. His long blue hair was replaced by a short cut. He was unarmed. He looked up at the old cabin, “Do you remember living here?”

His voice was dry yet warm. He spoke in a familial tone. Yet it was almost condescending, as if she was ten years old still and he was her teacher. Over and over and over they would practice Frost and Douse and Froth and Prism in the frigid woods outside the Mercury Lighthouse. Mia could never achieve them to his liking. She had always been more healer than warrior. Her true joy was treating the terrible winter colds.

“Of course I remember,” she said.  _ This is my home. Not yours. _

“You were only five. When your father died,” he said.

“I remember,” Mia said, now more annoyed.

“Do you?”

“Why are you here?” Mia repeated.

He ignored the question again, “That night, the night your father died, there was an attack. It was pirates. I was only fifteen.” His bright blue eyes focused on the doorway.

Alex had never spoken of the attack. Mia's curiosity got the best of her, “You know how he died?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn't you tell me?” Mia demanded.

“I found out when I left Imil for the first time. I traveled Weyard to find out what happened. The pirate who attacked, he was called the Blood Fish. He was my father.”  _ The Blood Fish,  _ Mia was astonished. She had heard of the pirate. He was infamous on the Great Eastern Sea. Notorious for feeding his victims to massive predator fish.

“My mother ran away with him when she was a teenager. Soon, she began to fear him. So she returned to Imil when she was pregnant with me. After fifteen years, the Blood Fish followed her. In his rage he killed her. And your father killed him. That was the end of it,” Alex said.

“And my father?” Mia asked.

“Killed by poison from the blade of the Blood Fish, weeks after the attack.”

Mia was shaken, “Why are you telling me this?”

“You have a right to know,” Alex said. He stepped towards Mia. She stepped back. He looked her in the eye and said, “Mia, changes are coming. Events are transpiring that I will be at the centre of. I need you to trust me. I need to keep you safe.”

“You started the Eclipse. You betrayed the Clan. So why are you here Alex?” the words came out before she could realize.

“To tell you why I left in the first place. I had to find out what really happened to my mother, and to your mother. I needed to know why they died. And I had to explain-”

“Why you let thousands die?” Mia cut him off angrily.

“I had to prevent something worse,” Alex met her eyes firmly. He looked sad but genuine. For the first time in thirty years Mia saw her cousin. Not the mysterious villain. Not the Clan betrayer. Not the Tuaparang agent. She saw her cousin, her mentor, her family. She wanted to believe him.

“What?” she asked.

He shook his head, “You wouldn’t understand. I've stayed long enough. When the time comes, I will protect you.”

Before Mia could speak, the light of cloaking psynergy covered Alex. For a second she saw the glimmering outline of his silhouette before he disappeared completely.


	8. The Amber Room

Cool autumn rays filtered through the feathers of the soarwing and bathed Matthew's neck. Every moment the sun faded behind the western mountains. As a boy Garet would tell Matthew that just beyond the mountains was a city of dwarves. When Matthew proclaimed his disbelief the stories grew wilder. He had heard about everything from dwarf wizards to flying dwarf castles. Leaving him and the others behind made Matthew feel sick to his stomach.  _ This is the first time I've been alone since before my dad sent us to get the feather. _

The setting sun yielded the sky to the Golden Sun. It's warm light pierced the navy sky like a lighthouse that guided no ships. None but Matthew's one man soarwing. A loud mechanical snap burst through the air. The loudest one yet.

About an hour after leaving Garet, Matthew had begun to hear noises in the skies. Sounds very atypical for the crater. They reminded Matthew more of the alchemy machines, the well in Ayuthay and the forge in Pasaaj, than of the normal coos and howls of the crater's creatures. Sometimes it was low and steady buzzing, other times sudden snaps that reminded him of an ax glancing off a shield but more terse. But every time they seemed to come from all directions. Only once did Matthew manage to catch a glimpse of a dark mass through the clouds.  _ Maybe it was a flying dwarf castle. _

The thought didn't seem to give him the comfort he hoped it would. He found his hands struggled to stay steady on the soarwing's handles with each bang. He had no options. If someone was stalking him up there then landing would be to lose any chance at escape. Mobility was nil on the ground this close to the mountain. All he could do was continue flying. He repeated Garet's words to centre himself.  _ He saw the Wise One in danger. A doe would lead him through the crater and towards Sol Sanctum. _

That's exactly where he had to go. For the first time in a long time Matthew really imagined the sanctum. It felt strange to finally be going to see it. Sol Sanctum loomed so close but impossibly far for Matthew's entire life. His parents constantly watched the mountain and spoke in hushed voices about it's innards. He always felt an eerie awe of the place. 

In an hour the sun had set completely behind and the jagged landscape beneath all but disappeared entirely. The starlight lit up the tops of the mountains that encircled Mount Aleph's lonely peak. The Golden Sun guided Matthew to the centre of it all. From the cabin it appeared as a tiny point of light, not half the size of the moon. As Matthew approached it the sight of it began to awe him. Its light made the top portion of Mount Aleph look like an island floating in the night.

When the Golden Sun began to blind Matthew, he descended towards the base of the mount. The entrance was south facing, towards where Vale used to be. Matthew pulled hard on the soarwing's handles as the mountain's wall suddenly appeared in front of him. The movement threw his body against the harnesses and he heard the wooden frame creak. Matthew silently thanked Ivan for his engineering prowess. Hound Oak.  _ Strongest wood in Angara, and it's a good thing. _

He began to make narrow circles downwards. According to his father the sanctum had two openings. The door at the foot of the mountain led to hallways and corridors which climbed up Sol Sanctum and Luna Sanctum. At Sol Sanctum was the second opening. Between massive pillars the room was open to the skies. Matthew's mother often told him the view was spectacular. However it was probably too dangerous to land there with the soarwing. Matthew worried he'd crash into a pillar or land too hard and smash the soarwing if he attempted it. He headed for the south door instead. Finding it in the dark is the only issue.

With relief he remembered Fever, the Mars Djinn. Matthew usually carried Venus Djinn, but Fever had a special attachment to him. Fever was a particularly hard won Djinn, a spirit that seemed to long to roam. After the fight Fever constantly antagonized Tyrell to the point where Matthew reluctantly took him in. Now however Matthew was very thankful, for a fire djinn was a scout like no other. And a scout is exactly what Matthew needed.

“Fever, see if you can scope out the entrance way.” The spirit needed no encouragement to zip away. He loved to wander and often left for days at a time. Matthew wondered why he bothered to come back.

Fever's body emanated a small amount of light, enough to guide him. Matthew smiled as he watched the tiny ball of light dash madly and randomly with jarring speed. Sometimes the Djinn would crash into the mountain only to bounce off having seemingly gained velocity.

The Djinn crackled loudly, the sound of a campfire but a much faster and a hundred times more spastic. Matthew glanced down to see Fever about one hundred yards down. He quickened his downward spiral towards the small ball of light. When he was close enough to grab the dippy spirit his foot touched down. He retracted the soarwing's long Roc feather wings. Due to an invention of Ivan's the soarwing had the ability to be worn as a pack, only slightly more cumbersome. The advantage was a quick take off.

Fever buried himself inside Matthew's bags. The Venus Adept cast a small Mars spell to illuminate the way; something he was unable to do while flying. Finally he could take a good look at his surroundings. To the south he saw a stone walkway that looked cut off of the earth. It ended abruptly ten yards away. 

He turned his sight to the north where two stone stairways lead to a massive lavender door with teal bricks and its foot. On either side stood crumbled pillars carved into the mountain. Four tall statues of robed women cornered the door. Their faces looked hardly human. 

The sight of it all stalled Matthew. He had seen ruins, machines, and towers of epic proportions. The labyrinth inside Craggy Peak came to mind. But the beauty and simplicity of this door and its statues stood out in a way that was very unlike anything he had seen before. It felt older, less human, and more powerful. Matthew's grandfather had once told him that Mount Aleph stood at the centre of the world, that it was the place where the gods breathed their life force into Weyard. To Matthew, at that moment, it felt true.

Another snap echoed through the empty crater sky and woke Matthew up from his daydreaming. Uneasiness returned like the chill of a winters day. Instinctively his palm felt the handle of his sol blade. His grip relaxed as he realized there was no immediate danger. Slowly he walked to the lavender doors and with a touch they opened.

The inside of the sanctum was dark but lit by faint glow from the walls and the floor. The place permeated with psynergy. Matthew felt stronger, the energy he expended flying the soarwing was immediately replenished. He quickly navigated the sanctum's corridors and ponds. The snaps and buzzes he heard before ceased entirely inside the sanctum. He was alone. The puzzles didn't prove to be challenging for Matthew but sanctum seemed to be never ending. Garet's words pounded inside his head like a drum. _ He saw the Wise One in danger. _

Finally he arrived at the Sol Sanctum itself. A large room with four statues at each corner, identical to those at the doorway. The north side of the room was open with massive pillars holding the ceiling. Matthew made his way to the opening and gazed into the black night sky pierced only by thousands of stars. Turning back he wandered into the Luna Sanctum. Exactly how it was described. He made a perimeter and ended up back where he started, the Sol Sanctum.  _ He saw the Wise One in danger. _

Matthew stopped. In a moment he realized he had no next steps. How was he supposed to find the Wise One? The words Elemental Star Chamber came to his head. If the Wise One lives somewhere, it's there. That's where my dad and Garet found him, not here, he contemplated as he gazed hopelessly at the northeast statue's noble face. 

Frustrated he tried to move the statue. He remembered that that's how his parents originally opened up the portal to the Elemental Start Chamber. It wouldn't budge. He tried every other statue. He repeated with the Luna Sanctum statues. Nothing moved. _He saw the Wise One in danger._

“What am I supposed to do?” Matthew muttered in frustration.

He paced to Sol Sanctum's opening and sat with his feet dangling off the edge. To the west the sky lightened. Matthew had spent an entire night navigating the labyrinth. Suddenly he felt exhausted. The top sliver of the sun appeared on the horizon.

From behind Matthew light began to cast a warm light on his back. He turned around quickly to see the sanctum's statue casting light from their gems towards the centre of the room. Exactly like dad described it.

He ran to the Luna Sanctum, to where the portal should be. A point of light shined on the north wall. Slowly he touched it with his bare palm. His stone was cold except for the tiny point of light which was blazing hot in an unnerving contrast. Then the portal opened. Looking at it reminded Matthew of the psynergy vortexes, the feeling of looking at something both far and near.

He remembered Garet's words and stepped into the portal. He thought he heard something move, a scraping sound against the stone floor behind him, but just then he was somewhere else. Impossibly far from the Luna Sanctum. Around him was the Elemental Chamber.

He stood on a large smooth stone surface. All around were glowing turquoise stone pillars shooting up from yards below. Below him was a sea of black-purple liquid. The most striking thing was the unearthly silence. Matthew felt that he was somehow farther than ever from anywhere he had known and yet profoundly at peace.

A large statue stood just yards in front of him. It was a massive spherical stone with a single eye. The Wise One. Matthew had seen statues of the Wise One in the past, at Craggy Peak. But this was much different. Its eye seemed somehow alive. As Matthew stared at it the stone surface pulsated in his eyes. Suddenly he thought, and when as soon as the thought came he knew that this wasn't a statue. It was the Wise One himself. He moved towards it and without knowing it moved his hand towards it.

The chamber around him faded into a swirl of purple and black. He was in a new chamber now and around him were thousands of carvings. The room was a dome at the centre of which he stood. The etchings, carved deep into a glowing amber granite, covered the entire massive curved wall which also acted as a ceiling. Each was beautiful and intricate. He saw scenes of everything from hunting to burials. It seemed that every kind of beast and bird was shown somewhere along with armies and structures.

Forming a diamond within the dome were what could only be depictions of the four great lighthouses. Each was much larger and prominent than the other carvings. They were stylistically carved so that their base appeared larger than their summits. Matthew realized they were all pointing up to the same spot; the spot directly above him.

Craning his neck he saw a monumental map of Weyard. Weyard how it used to be in the ancient past. Matthew had seen similar maps around the Warriors of Vales’ study in Kalay. However this map was more detailed than any he has seen. At its centre, a warrior was depicted with two outstretched arms. To each side of the warrior stood attackers. One with a sword glowing gold and the other deep purple. It was plain to Matthew what the depiction meant.  _ Two attacking Weyard, and one guarding it. _

As soon as he had the thought the swirl of colours returned and he was back in the elemental chamber. The Wise One was in front of him again, unmoving. His eyes conveyed sadness. With dread Matthew knew what had happened. He was too late, the Wise One was gone. Frozen. Dead. Again Garet's words.  _ He saw the Wise One in danger. _

“I'm too late,” he muttered.

“Too late for what?” a voice came from behind him.

Matthew whirled around and his sword was out from its sheath in a second. There, at the portal back to Sol Sanctum, stood eight soldiers all garbed black and dark purple armour with unsheathed swords and crossbows pointing at him.  _ Tuaparang. How? _


	9. Empire Reborn

The first signs of dawn were beginning to crack through the tall ornament windows of the palace. Golden light danced through the stained glass, reflecting images of war and valour onto the inner stone walls of Unan's throne room.  _ The late Emperor,  _ Eoleo thought.

He stood in the room with Sana's most powerful people, the royal family and their most trusted advisers. Hou Ju sat on the floor with her back against the wall and her face buried in her hands. She was still dressed in the ceremonial dress she had put on for Unan's speech but now it was wrinkled and her hair was disheveled. The remnants of the Sanan water lilies that decorated it could still be seen.

Ryu Kou paced the room, back and forth. Deep bags were under his eyes and a gash on his bicep bleed through its bandage and dripped down to his fingers. He didn't seem to notice. Their mother, Hinechou, stood blankly at the wall. No tears or bags ornamented her eyes, just shock. Eoleo looked at each of them deeply. He wanted to speak, he wanted to help his friends. Too many words had already been said.

After the assassin escaped, Eoleo took Shui's body to the city where chaos was everywhere. He  _ had  _ to tell the royal family about his encounter. There was no one to take Shui's body, no one to bury him as he deserved.  _ The boy stood up against his Emperor's killer and died for it.  _ Eoleo brought him to the palace. The guards, the ones that were left protecting Hinechou's family, pounced on him and Shui.

It had been difficult convincing the guard's he was a friend of Hou Ju's and Ry Kou's. It was even more difficult convincing them he  _ needed  _ to see them. All the Sanans saw was a foreigner in the city at the time of the worst Tonfon event in a generation. Blame was thrown around like darts.

Eoleo spent most of the night in the cold wet cells beneath the palace. It was after midnight when Ryu Kou finally came down and released him. Eoleo would never forget the look on his face. Ryu Kou was never the type to show weakness. His father had died in the Morgal War and his family torn apart. He fought through it, and he saved his sister. Eoleo recalled Ryu Kou on the day of Hou Zan's, his mentor's, funeral. He was like a stone. Not ready to be rolled away in the tide of the darkness.

But that night when he saw Eoleo rotting in the cells with all the criminals and suspects of Unan's murder, the Sanan prince broke down. He took Eoleo to the palace, to Unan's throne room where Eoleo had been before. Where the Emperor had been so kind to him and his companions during their quest to stop the Grave Eclipse. Eoleo didn't know the man well but he mourned for the loss of a great Emperor. _ An Emperor of peace. _

Now Eoleo stood in the throne room with the royal family as morning came. He looked at Ryu Kou, still pacing from one wall to the other.

“Will you do it?” Hinechou said to her son without breaking her blank thousand yard stare. She was asking him what they had all been asking him, all the Sanan generals and politicians and advisers, since they met there in that room: Would he be the next Emperor?  Sana was a young nation, and it had no set rules of succession yet. Unan was only the second Emperor ever. Eoleo remembered the first Emperor, Ko, very well. He had only died a few years ago. He had no sons and no daughters. No one to take his place as Emperor. Ko thought he would live forever, so he made no succession laws.

Predictably when he died Sana erupted in civil war. Before it even happened Eoleo's father would say the war was the  _ sleeping dragon _ , ready to cause catastrophe when it inevitably woke up. So Eoleo and his father kept well off the seas in those days. War galleys from both sides controlled the entire ocean. There was no easy pirating for Champans.

Eoleo worried the same thing was about to happen. Unan left no succession laws either. He had been working on drafting familial laws. Since he had no children the laws would have made Ryu Kou, the eldest of his late brother's children, the next Emperor. But Unan died just hours earlier, and the laws were left as unfinished documents on his desk.

Sana was in the same state it was when Ko died. A state where an individual with enough strength could seize the throne. Eoleo looked around the room. Besides the royal family all he saw was yes people. Men and women eager to be directed, not willing to lead. Eoleo saw faces of frigid dread. And they all looked to the young Ryu Kou to save them. So Eoleo looked at Ryu Kou, and waited for him to answer the question: would he lead Sana? His eyes widened like moons at the question and he tapped his fingers wildly against his steel forearm armour.

“Ryu...” one of his advisers started.

“I don't know!” Ryu Kou burst suddenly and slammed his hand against the desk.

The adviser looked down at the papers he held in his hands. They were the unsigned, unstamped papers indicating Unan's wish for Ryu Kou to succeed him. They quivered as the adviser struggled to keep his hands steady. Ryu Kou eyes darted to and fro eventually landing on the papers and the adviser said, “You know what they say.”

Ryu Kou just shook his head silently. Eoleo was terrified. Not just for Ryu Kou but for Sana. He knew that these moments, the brief hours that passed like lightning after the Emperor's death were critical to the future of the nation.

The sound of horns blasted through the silence destroying it and any thought that might have been in their minds. The horns didn't have the same high breezy sound that Unan's trumpeters had. This was no fanfare. They were deep and loud and grim. They burst through the stale palace air without harmony. All in one unwavering low heavy note.  _ War horns. _

Ryu Kou's eyes met Eoleo's. Eoleo saw all his fear leave him in the span of that single moment. His eyes became dark and determined and the Sanan prince strided confidently out of the come. Eoleo and some of the advisers followed. They pestered Ryu Kou with useless questions that he ignored. At the grand doors of the palace Ryu Kou ordered his advisers to stay put and grouped together a vanguard of twenty guards. Strong men and women with pikes sharp as razors. 

Ryu Kou turned to Eoleo with the same steady look of determination. “You're a powerful warrior Eoleo. Will you fight for us?”

“If it comes to that,” Eoleo didn't have to hesitate. Ryu Kou was a brash person and sometimes stupid. But Eoleo had no doubt that he would be a kind ruler, one like Unan. Moreover he cared about the boy, and his sister.

Ryu Kou didn't smile but he nodded and went on with his entourage in toe. It seemed to Eoleo that Ryu Kou was done smiling. Before the group arrived at Tonfon's western gate it was already open. A group of guards, palace men, stood at attention as if ready to greet some esteemed guest.

Ryu Kou addressed their captain, “Who authorized you to open the gate?”

“King Wo,” the captain said curtly.

Eoleo looked down the road to the west. Tonfon's elevation allowed one to see miles from the gate. Only five hundred yards away was a massive procession of cavalry. At the front was a king plumed in elaborate feathers with a burly war horse. 

_ He's not dead,  _ Eoleo thought and his face flushed with anger. The warlord had attacked Amiti's city mercilessly. He had held his friend's captive in Koacho. Eoleo snapped at the guard, “You mean Wo the tyrant? You're letting him into your city? Do you have a death wish Sanan?”

The captain looked Eoleo up and down with astonishment, “What concern is it of yours squid?”

Eoleo drew his sword and pushed the blunt end against the captain's breastplate, forcing his back into the stone wall behind him. “Close the gate.”

Three guards immediately drew pikes and pressed them at Eoleo's throat. One nearly broke the skin. “Stand down,” Ryu Kou said, “this man is a friend.”

The guard's glanced at their captain who nodded and they pointed their pikes back in the sky and away from Eoleo. Eoleo whispered to Ryu Kou, “You have to close the gate.”

Without looking at the pirate Ryu Kou said to the captain, “Why have you opened the gate?”

“Wo brings your uncle's killer, prince. All he asks for in return is an audience from Tonfon. He wishes to reunite the Empire in peace,” the captain said.

“He has the assassin?” Ryu Kou asked.

The captain nodded, “I have seen the body myself. It was equipped with the same arrows as this one, the one used to kill the Emperor.” Sure enough from the captain's pack he drew a black bloodied arrow.

Ryu Kou looked at the other guards for confirmation. They nodded. One of Ryu Kou's own guards spoke up, “This is the arrow Ryu Kou. I recovered it from the Emperor myself.”

The Sanan prince nodded. He gave a motion to his guards, the ones he had brought with him from the palace. They joined the line standing at attention for Wo's arrival.  _ What on earth is going on here? _

“Ryu Kou, you can't let him in. You can't do this. This is lunacy,” Eoleo said.

Finally Ryu Kou met Eoleo's glare, “I will see the body for myself. And you encountered the assassin right? You can confirm his identity.”

“I didn't get a good look. It was dark. Please Ryu Kou. Close the gates,” Eoleo said.

Ryu Kou shook his head, “You're my friend Eoleo, so I'll allow you leave the city untouched. But do  _ not _ meddle and further.”

“Meddle?” Eoleo was exasperated.

“ _ Leave _ Eoleo,” the prince said.

Without looking back the pirate stormed away from the Sanan procession. But he did not leave the western road, the road where Wo would meet with Ryu Kou. He couldn't leave. He had to see what would happen next. He had to protect Ryu Kou if he could. Eoleo rounded the block until he was out of eyesight. He rounded the block and approached Ryu Kou's location from a narrow alleyway. He selected a well hidden spot from behind crates to witness whatever would come next.  _ I'll stop the tyrant myself if I can. _

It wasn't long before Wo marched into the city surrounded by his cavalry. Eoleo had never seen the man in person before. He had only heard the tales of Matthew and his other companions of their time in Kaocho. Of how he trapped them to die in the Ourobros beneath his colony city. _ Not a man I ever hoped to have to deal with,  _ Eoleo thought.

Wo had a mustache that hung lowly on either side in the west Sanan style. He had thick eyebrows and hair cropped short. A scar marked his forehead. He was dressed elaborately with feathers and silks, as an Emperor would be garbed.

Ryu Kou spoke first, loud enough for everyone on the street to hear. A large crowd had gathered but were held back by the guards. The rooftops of the buildings that lined the streets were full of Sanans wishing to catch a glimpse of Wo, who had been their enemy only a few years earliler. “Would you parlay in peace King Wo?”

Wo rose he head and looked around the street and its crowd before saying, “Of course my prince. Cavalry! Lay down your weapons!”

His many soldiers drew their swords and spears and bows and dropped them to the ground at their horses' hooves. Crashes of metal hitting stone and dirt filled the street for a while. Ryu Kou ordered the guards to do the same and the crashing commenced again before finally dissipating.

“Where is my uncle's killer? Where is the assassin?” Ryu Kou asked.

Wo rose his right arm and without looking back said, “Guard, bring him out.”

From behind Wo a tall strong soldier jumped off his horse. Behind him was a mass wrapped in many blankets and rags. The soldier lifted the load off his horse and held it in front of him in his arms. As he approached Wo and Ryu Kou, Eoleo could make out its shape: the shape of a corpse.

The guard lay the corpse at Ryu Kou's feet and uncovered it. The first thing Eoleo saw was the long beast ears.  _ A beastman _ . The crowd gasped. They began shouting and some began to press forwards against the guards. Profanities and curses against the beastmen seemed to come to the Sanan tongues very easily. The peoples were the harshest of enemies. The beastmen hadn’t exactly been friendly to Eoleo in the past, but when the pirate thought of his friend Sveta and his blood crawled at the Sanan bigotry.

Wo got off his horse and retrieved an arrow that the beastman was equipped with. He motioned to the guard that had Unan's arrow. He held one in each hand, the arrow that had killed Unan and a fresh arrow from the beastman's pack. He spoke not to Ryu Kou, but to the entire crowd gathered there, “We found the monster outside the city. He bears the same weapon that killed Emperor Unan. The arrow's of the beastmen army. Morgal has disregarded our peace treaty. They have murdered our Emperor in bad blood! This is an act of war, and we must retaliate!” 

_ Our Emperor?  _ Eoleo thought.  _ He hated Unan. He fought a war against him. Why is he pretending otherwise? _

Wo's army began to chant, “War! War! War!”  
Ryu Kou looked as if he wanted to speak but he couldn't. The state of things was spinning wildly out of control when finally one of Ryu Kou's own guards shouted, “Emperor Wo! Emperor Wo! Lead us to war! Emperor Wo!”

Wo struggled to look stoic as a smile crept onto his cold lips. But it didn't matter. All the guards, all of Wo's soldiers, and all the Tonfon people gathered on the rooftops eyes were glazed over with blood lust. All together they chanted, “Emperor Wo! Lead us to war!”

The new Emperor of the united Sana climbed back on his horse. In an instant everything changed. In a moment all the bad blood from the Sanan civil war washed away as cold rage against the Beastmen took its place. Wo rode slowly into the city and as his horse passed Eoleo got a good look at the Beastman who lay dead. Suddenly he realized he knew the man. He was a messenger of Sveta. They had met after the Grave Eclipse in Belinsk just weeks earlier.  _ That's no warrior! No assassin! _ Eoleo thought wildy,  _ It's a trick! _

He had to tell Ryu Kou.  _ But what good would it do? Not even he can stop the tide of war now.  _ But Eoleo had to do something. He had to warn Belinsk. He had to warn Sveta. So he ran back out of the alleyway from the direction he came.

He sprinted to the docks by the most bizarre way he could think of, taking only abandoned streets to avoid being detected and caught by Wo's men. When he reached the docks it was full of Wo's cavalry. Flames from burning ships flickered and the morning sun hung low providing an irritating glare making it difficult for Eoleo to find his ship.

“Burn them all! Burn all the foreigner ships!” one of Wo's captains shouted. Eoleo felt dread fill the pits in his stomach when he saw it. His ship, his very old ship, was caught in massive flames. The ship his father stole from Alhafra so many years ago. The ship that had sailed Eoleo and Matthew and all their friends around the entire Eastern Sea.  _ The ship my father died on,  _ Eoleo thought.  _ Gone. _

He still had to get to Belinsk. Sveta would never be expecting the attack. And Morgal was only still recovering from the Grave Eclipse. A surprise attack would be devastating. He had to warn them. Eoleo couldn't reach Belinsk by land, except by taking Passaj cloud pass that Matt had taken before meeting Eoleo.  _ It will be a long journey. I might not make it in time,  _ Eoleo thought. But he had to try.

He hid behind barrels at the dock while all around him ships burned and Kaocho horsemen rode up and down the boardwalks. Eoleo spotted a soldier riding a strong horse trotting slowly towards his hiding spot.  _ A horse would help. _

When the soldier was close enough Eoleo shot a massive psynergy snake of flames at her and she careened off her horse into the water. The horse neighed wildly in fear and stood on its back legs. Before he charged off Eoleo bounded out from behind the barrels and leaped onto its back.

“Hiya,” he shouted and the horse galloped down the dock with it's hooves clapping loudly against the wooden boardwalk.

“Foreigner!” a soldier shouted as he spotted Eoleo.

But it was too late, in the chaos of Wo's sudden take over there was no catching Eoleo. As they chased him through the city streets he disposed of the few soldiers on his tail with sudden bursts of flame. Finally he made it to the western gate and to the road beyond. He didn't slow down to look back. He pushed his new steed forward.  _ I have to warn Sveta. _


	10. Brave Souls Fell Here

With Isaac in tow the trek was slow going. It had already been a few days since Matt left for Sol Sanctum. In the early goings the group took turns carrying on a makeshift stretcher, of branches and rope salvaged from the mysterious hovel, through the Mount Aleph crater. Tyrell and Takeru switched out for Tyrell's father and Karis every few hours. There were a few close calls but the group managed to make it out without a major fall. More than once Tyrell misstepped, but Takeru managed to hold the brunt of Isaac's weight.

They quickly realized that Isaac wasn't quite fully unconscious. He was capable of chewing the small bits of food they gave him. His eyes never opened and he never spoke. Besides chewing and breathing he seemed unable to move. Every night they pitched tents and made a light camp. At camp the group tried, unsuccessfully, every revival psynergy they had learned on their various journeys to awake Isaac.

Back at the cabin the group repurposed a cart left over from the Lunpan traders to carry Isaac. Tyrell's dad filled the cart with hay and it was barely large enough to fit Isaac. At first it was difficult to roll down the narrow plateau pathways but the earth gradually flattened as they descended. Tyrell had taken the path a few times before but never with such urgency. Even descending the path with Matt and Karis to find a Roc Feather had been light and breezy compared to this. Tyrell's father hardly spoke. In better times Garet would chastise Tyrell often, but now he gave only quick commands and spent his free time at camp tending to Isaac.

When they were well past the wilds of the Goman Plateau the land became fertile and farmhouses and small villages started to appear. _ Settlements of Valeans.  _ But these day there were more coming, from all around Angara, to settle the fertile land. Isaac and Tyrell's father would talk about beastmen refugees from the war with Sana, and other pioneers simply looking for a better life. Tyrell himself hadn't interacted with them much.

In the east, where the road started, the farms were mostly destroyed or completely barricaded. It was similar to how Garet and Isaac barricaded the cabin.  _ These people were fighting the shadow monsters.  _ In the place of bright grass and crops was black scorched earth and tall thin ghost-grey weeds. Effects of the Grave Eclipse were always around, it was difficult for Tyrell to forget its horrors.

The group approached a part of the land which seemed recently moved. Takeru went ahead and Karis close behind him to inspect it. Tyrell gave a quick glance to his father who was pushing the cart with Isaac and then followed Takeru and Karis. The earth was loose and a broken spade was cast aside. None of the ghost weeds that covered much of the land grew here. Standing, as if dug into the ground, was a four foot piece of thick bark from a tree that must have been quite mighty. Tyrell knelt to read the words etched into the bark's surface.

_ BRAVE SOULS FELL HERE _

_ MAY THEY REST IN PEACE _

As they continued the land was eerily empty. However, the group encountered a few Valeans moving back east to resettle their lands now that the eclipse was over. All gave a similar story: they escaped the eclipse by moving westward to Patcher's Place. There the Grave Eclipse hadn't reached.

On the second day of their journey they reached a line in the earth where the scorched ground ceded and the grass and crops began. No longer were all the homesteads torn apart or barricaded. Right at the line of where the Grave Eclipse had met the light of day were massive camps. Makeshift tents and palisades dotted the green land. Tyrell has seen a very similar camp on his journey. Eoleo's people, the Champans, escaped the reach of the eclipse and set up temporary camp just outside its range.

Garet led the group through the rows of tents looking for supplies. The tents were mostly empty and what people were there were packing up, preparing for the long trek home. Tyrell noticed that the people had come from further than Goma. He saw Billish and even Beastmen. 

“For Bilibin and Morgal there was no escape except through the Grey Brook Pass and into Goma,” Garet noted. Grey Brook Pass was the small gap in the mountain range east of Carver's Camp. Tyrell and his companions were supposed to have taken the pass to get to the Mountain Roc before they were waylaid.

“Tyrell! Uncle Garet!” from behind them a small shout cut the somber silence. Tyrell knew the voice and he whirled around to greet his cousin. Grace seemed so much older than the last time Tyrell had seen her. He supposed it had been over a year.  _ She'd be about ten now,  _ he tried to remember. She had the fiery hair of a Valean Mars adept and all the stubbornness that went with it. She ran to embrace Tyrell and then her Uncle Garet. For the first time since the crater Tyrell thought he saw a smile on his father's face.

“Why are you so far from Patcher's Place? Is your father around?” Garet asked his niece about Aaron, who was Garet's brother and Grace's father. Aaron's family had lived at Patcher's Place for as long as Tyrell could remember. It  _ was  _ strange to see Grace, who was still a child, so far from her home.

Grace nodded, “I can take you to him!” She beamed at Tyrell, who had always been her favourite cousin, a feeling which was mutual. Tyrell thought she was the most like himself. He could still recall when she was born, the last of all his cousins. He was only seven but the memories of that year would never leave him. It was the year of the last Mourning Moon.  _ The year we lost mom.  _ Those thoughts were difficult to shake off with the Mourning Moon's return upon them.

Grace led the group back the way they came, towards her family's tent. “When the vortexes started dad said the Mourning Moon was back. And we had to make sure the people in the plains were safe. Lots of them aren't adepts. That's when the  _ black sun _ started.”

“The Grave Eclipse,” Karis corrected. Grace looked at her confusedly so Karis continued, “It's what you called the black sun. The sun was blotted out by the moon for a large part of the continent.”

Grace nodded, “Mom and dad decided we had to stay. And they went east to bring people out of the darkness. It -” she cut her explanation short and bounded down the path ahead of the group. Tyrell smiled to himself. She nearly fell as she took a sharp right left into a green tent and yelled, “Dad! Garet and Tyrell!”

Just as soon as she entered she darted out of the tent. Behind her a tall middle aged man with floppy red hair emerged into the light of day. He had a hunters knife strapped to his knife and wore a warrior's tunic. Tyrell's Uncle Aaron. He was just as tall as Garet but slimmer. “Garet!” the brothers hugged.

Aaron greeted his nephew and Karis. He gave Takeru a long look before finally looking down at the cart where Isaac lied. His eyes widened, “Is he okay?” Then slowly he realized something else and asked a tense question, “Where's Matt?”

Garet gave a long sigh as if all the stresses of the past week and month were bombarding his soul all at once, “Matt is okay. He went to Sol Sanctum. Isaac... well we're going to bring him to Yamata City. There we think a sage, named Himi, can help him. She's the daughter of Susa and Kushinada. This is her brother.” Garet motioned at Takeru who introduced himself.

Aaron looked confused, “What happened?”

“Can we sit?” Garet asked.

Aaron nodded and motioned towards the logs that sat lengthwise on the ground just outside his tent's door. The group sat down and Garet explained to Aaron what had happened in full detail. Aaron returned with his own story. Just as Grace had said the family moved closer to the eclipse to help out. After both stories Grace began to look pale. Tyrell tried to give her a reassuring smile.  _ She's gone through way too much.  _ He felt that they could have prevented the Grave Eclipse. Even though no one ever said so precisely they all knew it was true. It ate him up inside, especially after seeing his uncle and cousin.

Aaron looked thoughtful for a moment, “You need to get to Kalay fast then? So you can sail from there to Yamata?” Garet nodded and Aaron continued, “You should take a carriage.”

“Yes! I'm not walking another step with this drill sergeant!” Tyrell couldn't help but interject as he gave a sideways point towards his father. Grace cracked the tiniest smile. Tyrell's heart lightened just the tiniest bit and even though Karis scoffed he could tell the others felt the same.  _ This trip has been way too damn drab. _

Garet ignored his son which seemed to Tyrell like the new standard. “You have  _ horses  _ here?” Garet asked his brother.

Aaron shook his head, “They kept them in Oakfield. Away from the eclipse.”

_ Oakfield. _ A tiny town just west of Patcher's Place. The only thing of note there was old man Bullen's horse ranch. That and the fact that Tyrell grew up there. In the house his father built. The house that they hadn't returned to since his mother died.

“Oakfield?” Garet asked quietly.

A look of revelation passed over Aaron's face, “You haven't been back there?”

Garet shook his head and in a confident voice said, “We have to go. We'll make for Oakfield immediately.” 

“You can wait for supplies at least? We had enough dried jerky and hard bread to go around,” Aaron smiled, “real traveler's food. Kalay's been sending supplies up since the eclipse.”

“Ah,” Garet said, “and I'm glad they have. Thanks Aaron. For everything.”

Aaron nodded and had the group follow him through the camp towards the supplies. He led them to a mound, built to keep the supplies dry, with hundreds of crates and sacks atop it. The travelers took what they needed, mostly food and water but some weapons and tools as well. Tyrell took the opportunity to sharpen his machete and battle axe.

When they were done Aaron pointed westward, “If you follow this line of tents you'll get back on the road towards Patcher's Place. And Oakfield beyond of course. Bullen's been keeping all the horses and carriages at his ranch for safekeeping. No one wanted the shadow beasts getting at their steeds. I'm sure he'll lend you some.”

Garet nodded.  _ Dad used to know Bullen really well. Bullen used to think that Oakfield was his town and everybody else just lived in it and dad let him think it. Didn't harm us.  _ The thought of the goofy old rancher made Tyrell smile.  _ Even if it'll be weird to be back in Oakfield it'll be nice to see him again. _

“He surely will. Well, we better get going,” Garet said. Takeru and Karis nodded.

Grace looked at Tyrell and then up at her dad, “Shouldn't we go with them?”

Aaron shook his head, “We're needed here. Say your goodbyes.”

Grace was too tough to cry but Tyrell could tell she wanted to. He knew just by looking at his younger cousin that to finally be with her extended family again only to have to say goodbye was killing her. He could tell she wanted to go home.  _ And who wouldn't? This Eclipse is the nightmare that never ends. Even when it's over. _

Grace hugged her family and Karis and gave her new friend Takeru a firm handshake. “You make sure Isaac gets back okay,” she commanded.

“Of course,” Takeru smiled.

Finally the group left the makeshift camp and headed west again, this time with new intentions. Aaron and Grace waved from the slope that the camp stood on as they hiked away.

The shadows were growing longer as the autumn sun approached the horizon in front of them on the fourth day of the trip. In front of the setting sun the candles and torches of Patcher's Place started to illuminate the slate shingle roofs. The hamlet was built into one of the many cliffs that spotted the Goma region. They made up the footholds of the mountains behind Patcher's Place. From all around it lights began to appear from farmhouses and hovels. Patcher's Place served more as a meeting place for the villagers of Old Vale rather than a new village. It's population was relatively low. Instead Valeans spread around Goma, to Vault, Carver's Camp, Kalay, Lunpa, and homesteads to settle down.

The travelers silently approached the quiet town. “We should be able to make it before we lose the light,” Garet broke the silence. He and Karis pulled Isaac's cart along the bumpy dirt path. It was a path used by farmers to bring goods to Patcher's and the other vendors.

Garet pushed them onward and was proven right, much to the chagrin of Tyrell's very sore legs. They made it to Patcher's Place just before the last sliver of the sun disappeared behind the mountains. They used the light of the cliff town's torches and candles to guide them towards Patcher's house, which by itself made up a huge chunk of the town with it's tunnels and rooms, all built into the cliff itself. Tyrell's father told him that the Valeans actually commissioned a few dwarves to help with the excavation. Tyrell had yet to meet a dwarf.

Garet opened the door to Patcher's house and lifted Isaac's limp body over his shoulder and into the house. Takeru, Karis, and Tyrell entered after, leaving the cart outside. Inside were a few candles but for the most part the giant main room was empty. Behind the counter was only Patcher himself with his long golden ponytail and beard putting away supplies for the night. Tyrell couldn't help but loathe the sight of him.  _ One mistake that he just can't let go. _

Luckily Patcher didn't catch Tyrell's glare as he was consumed with the sight of Garet and Isaac upon his shoulder. Patcher rushed forward to help, “Is he alright?” Garet and Patcher brought Isaac up the long stairs of his house and laid him on a bed, one of the rooms in Patcher's inn.

“We'll be needing a few rooms. And yes, he's alright,” Garet said and then explained most of what had happened at the crater. Tyrell noticed that this time he left out the part about Matt. About how he went to Sol Sanctum's to fulfill whatever Isaac's purpose had been. The purpose brought on by the visions  _ Doesn't he trust Patcher? _

Patcher listened and only interjected with questions a few times. Finally Garet finished and tried to pay the innkeeper for the rooms but Patcher wouldn't take payment saying, “You protect this land, this is the least I can do. Besides, you'll need it more than me.” Tyrell shook his head.  _ Of course we'll need it more. You're a greedy miser unless you can look good to important people,  _ Tyrell struggled to keep the words in his head. Patcher shot him a look.

“Thank you Patcher,” Garet responded graciously.

Takeru dropped his packs down to the floor unsettling the dust and sending it upwards. Tyrell coughed loudly. Patcher gave him a venomous look.

Unable to help himself, Takeru let out a yawn and crashed onto the bed opposite Isaac's, asleep immediately. “Well I suppose he'll sleep here with Isaac. The next room over has three beds. The rest of you can stay there.”

Patcher led them down the hall and into the second room, “Would you like to be awoken tomorrow?”

Garet nodded, “We'll need to on our way to Oakfield as soon as possible.”

“Oakfield?” Patcher asked, a little confused. “What’s there?”

“We need some carriages from Bullen's ranch so we can get to Kalay as fast as possible.”

Patcher's eyes widened, “Kaylay? Haven't you heard?”

“No. Heard what?” Tyrell interrupted.

“Kalay is at war.”


	11. Vine Home

_ War?  _ Garet thought.  _ How could Kalay be at war? Hammet rules that city. He's a good man not a warmonger. Who could possibly want to attack them? Especially at a time like this. The eclipse has barely ended. And now the Mourning Moon is upon us. _

“At war with who?” Tyrell asked. Garet glanced over at his son.

“Go wake up Takeru. He should be here to hear this,” he told Tyrell. Tyrell flashed him a look of annoyance but went.  _ For a while it seemed like the quest and softened his brashness. Not during this trip. _

Just as soon as he left he returned with a sleepy Takeru. The tall samurai was garbed in the maroon tunic that was usually covered with a thick steel breastplate. But during the long and constant hiking he often stashed the armour in on his back instead. The boy was taller and stronger than his father Susa. Garet vaguely recalled Kushinada, the samurai's mother, predicted she'd have a warrior son.

Patcher ran a hand through his thick blonde hair. Garet didn't have a particular fondness for the man. When they were boys in Vale Patcher and his friends would tease Isaac and Garet. Regardless of how Garet felt, Patcher was a significant leader for the Valeans, which meant they had frequent dealings with each other.

“Tolbi has attacked from the Karogal sea. They've built warships,” Patcher said.

“Why?” Garet asked.

Patcher paused, “We should talk in the common room.” He led the group out of the stuffy guest room and down the oak stairs into Patcher's common room. At the counter was a teenage boy washing the floor. Beyond its front counter were two slightly sunken areas with wooden chairs and tables set up upon red wool carpets. Lining the walls of his store were barrels and crates of goods.

Patcher led them to the largest table and waited for them to take a seat before following suit. “Bring us ale,” he hollered at the boy washing the floor who sprang up and ran to the back. Patcher looked at Garet. “The word from Kalay is that they're starting an empire. But no word has come out of Tolbi in weeks. Since the eclipse ended.”

“But they were out of range of the eclipse, right?” Karis asked.  _ She'd know. Her and Tyrell saw a lot more of the eclipse than I did. _

“Kalay and Tolbi both were,” Patcher nodded. “But Tolbi never sent supplies, only Kalay. And the last things we heard from out of Tolbi should have warned us. Closing borders and training militia.”

“Militia?” Garet asked.

“Didn't they send you word? Some of the other Warriors of Vale are at Kalay, right? Don't you communicate? Where were you?” Patcher launched an assault of questions. Garet felt as if Patcher wanted to ask one more question,  _ why weren't you helping us? _

“You're supposed to be  _ answering  _ questions!” Tyrell said suddenly looking as though he was about to burst. Garet stifled a smile as Karis shook her head and Patcher looked furious.  _ He doesn't yell at my boy when I'm here,  _ Garet thought.

“We were holed up in the cabin. We tried to send ravens but they wouldn't go out into the darkness. If anyone sent ravens our way they would have turned back,” Garet answered Patcher's question.

“Seems like  _ you  _ should have known that? Being on the receiving end of all those eclipse refugees, right?” Takeru said, surprising Garet. Tyrell smiled broadly.  _ Didn't think those two had the same fire. Maybe Takeru's just now getting comfortable with us. _

Now Patcher was struggling to keep his cool, “Do you want to know the news or not?”

Just then the serving boy returned with a pitcher of ale and five mugs on a large flat wooden tray. He was struggling to balance them.

Patcher whirled suddenly around at the sound of his footsteps, “We won't be needing that. We're almost done here.” Startled, the boy flinched and the ale careened to the floor. Not waiting to be chastised he ran to the back to collect a mop.

Finally Patcher continued, “Just after the eclipse Tolbi boarded a Kalay ship. Hammet's story is that the ship was a trading vessel headed to Lemuria. To me it seems unlikely that Tolbi would attack unprovoked. I've met their ruler Iodem, he's a good man.”

Garet shook his head. Patcher always seemed to think he knew the truth of a matter or a person. The truth was that he didn't know Iodem. Not like Garet did. Garet always felt Iodem was a businessman first and leader second. If there was profit to be had than Iodem would have it. He was Babi's protegee, and that's why Tolbi was so rich.

“What is the state of things now?” Garet asked.

“Since then Kalay has been firing at Tolbi ships that approach the north shore too closely and vice versa on the south shore. There's been no major battles. But also no peace talks,” Patcher said. He stood up, “Enough talk. I still have a lot to do tonight. It's been busy since the eclipse. Someone needs to supply refugees.”

“And we thank you for it Patcher. And thank you also for your hospitality,” Garet said and shook his countryman's hand. Patcher left with no more words.

The group headed back up the creaky oak stairs and to their rooms. Takeru crashed to an immediate sleep in Isaac's room and Tyrell was snoring in his room with Garet and Karis. Sleeping on a bed did nothing to ease Garet's mind. As he did every night Garet went over the stresses. It seemed now that the eclipse could finally be crossed off the list. But to replace it was the Mourning Moon, Isaac's injury, Tyrell, and now the war brewing on the Karogal Sea. Suddenly he remembered that the next day they'd be at Bullen's Ranch to collect horses. They'd be back in Oakfield, back at the Vine Home, for the first time since Ellie. Endless, painful memories flooded back and he looked wide eyed at the ceiling.

* * *

The morning was clear and the road unobstructed as they headed out of Patcher's Place. The road to Oakfield was only a little over half a day's march westwards. But the hamlet was far enough off of any of the major Goman roads that it received little attention. It was quiet.  _ That's what she loved about it. _

Patcher had woken them up in the morning and sent them on their way with supplies and directions Garet didn't need. In the light of a new day Garet found it easier to accept the man. No matter his flaws he truly cared about the Valeans. He felt like they were his flock.  _ We have that in common. _

Garet pushed Isaac's cart along as every bump jarred his arms. He seemed to be doing well. The fever had passed and he was healthy by all counts except one: he was still unconscious. But everyday that passed Garet felt more confident that he'd be okay. There was a reason Takeru came and a reason Himi had the visions she had: she could help him.

A sliver of wood lodged itself into Garet's hand from the handle of the cart. The one good thing about returning to Oakfield would be to get Isaac out of the cart and into a carriage. The sooner they reached Kalay and Yamata the better.

Garet glanced at his son Tyrell. The boy had seemed brighter today. He was happy to visit his home again. For Tyrell the memories of Oakfield and the Vine Home were surely foggy. It had been ten years, over half his life, since they left. When Tyrell was still a child he'd bring up and ask to go back. Tyrell had loved old man Bullen and the horses. Every time Garet felt guilty saying no until one day Tyrell stopped asking. Garet looked down. Perhaps his son was having the same thought.

Shortly after midday they climbed a gentle wooded hill. When they emerged from the trees and looked down into the valley the small homes of Oakfield became visible only a few hundred yards away. A creek flowed just outside the hamlet and Bullen's horse field was larger than the rest of Oakfield combined. Garet could make out a few figures tending to a small garden.

The travelers approached the town silently. It seemed that Karis and Takeru knew the significance of the moment for Garet and Tyrell. The first building they reached was the Vine Home. It was unavoidable. Garet let himself stop and look at it and the group followed suit.

It was a small cabin, smaller than the Lookout Cabin. Garet and Ellie had built it with Isaac and Jenna. Ellie wasn't from Vale but she loved Goma. She loved it's gentle creeks and green valleys. She loved its quiet hamlets and humble people. She especially loved horses, something that Tyrell inherited. Oakfield became the perfect place for them to settle down. Close enough to the Lookout Cabin and Patcher's Place, but quiet enough for Ellie to love.

No one moved in after Garet left, and the roof had caved in in places but for the most part the structure stood intact. Now it was covered in more vines than ever. It was always called Vine Home for a reason. Garet had insisted they build in this location, he had liked the elevation and proximity to the creek. Isaac contested due to the massive vine infestation nearby, but it was Garet's house and his call in the end.  _ Of course Isaac was right _ . Garet spent many days clearing away vines, some even got into the house. He smiled.

Then he remembered Ellie using the vines for wreaths and cast his gaze downwards. And he remembered her fishing on the creek and tending to Bullen's horses. It was more difficult to return as he thought.

He looked over at his son who was speechless. He looked happy. Garet didn't want to linger but he loved his son. “Do you remember?” he asked, and Tyrell nodded. Karis gave him a sideways hug.

“We can go now,” Tyrell said, turning to his dad. Garet nodded and took Isaac's cart back into his hands and began pushing it towards Bullen's house.

As they walked through the rest of the village the people gave Garet sideways looks when they saw Isaac stowed away in a wheeled cart. A few of them remembered Garet and greeted him warmly. An old couple who had been gardening took a special interest in him and Tyrell. Even though it was never said out loud they seemed to understand why Garet hadn't returned. They wouldn't let the travelers continue on without tasting their garden's sweet tomatoes.

At the end of the road stood Bullen's two story wooden cabin and stables behind it. There were ranch hands tending to the horses. They were much more in number than Garet remembered, both horses and ranch hands. Garet supposed that was a result of the influx of horses during the eclipse.

A girl stopped unloading hay into the stables trough and approached them. She had a piece of cloth holding her long dark hair together above her head. She looked down at the cart and at Isaac. “Is he alright?” she asked.

Garet nodded, “We need to see Bullen.”

The girl looked the travelers up and down. She seemed surprised to see such a well armed motley crew in the backwater village. “Alright he's this way,” she shrugged and walked off towards the gate that stood near the house and opened into the horses' grazing acres.

Garet and the rest followed her into the middle of the yard. There was Bullen brushing a mare. He had short thin white hair and a patchy beard. His kindly face was deeply wrinkled and he wore a simple farmer's tunic. He looked up from his work and scanned his visitors.

“Garet?” he said with a look of comprehension. Garet nodded and the man laughed loudly embracing him. “And Tyrell! No longer a boy!” he said. Tyrell was hesitant but smiled.

Garet looked down at Isaac, “He's injured. We don't know what's wrong. But we do know where we need to go. In Yamata City there's a sage who can help him.”

Bullen put a hand on Isaac's forehead and frowned, “Yamata City? In the ocean? Will he last that long?”

“That's actually why we're here,” Garet said. He was tired of telling the story of what happened at the crater. Tired of thinking about his failure to save Isaac. He turned to his son and Karis and Takeru, “Why don't you tell him what's happened?”

They agreed. Tyrell told most of it with Karis interjecting sporadically to correct him. Bullen listened patiently. “Well of course you can borrow horses. As many as you need. Will you stay the night?” he said when they were finished.

Garet could think of a million reasons why he didn't want to stay the night in the town where he had lived with his wife. But he only said, “We need to leave as soon as possible”, he looked at Isaac, “for his sake.”

Bullen agreed and took them back to the stables. There they selected a four wheeled carriage in good shape. It was large enough to fit the entire party and have Isaac lie comfortably. It was covered in canvas.

“It was a part of one of Hammet's trading caravans once upon a time. Up and down the silk road it went,” Bullen said. “Bought it a few years back. It's worn, but of good make.”

Garet was glad to see it. Next Bullen led them to four strong horses and tied them up to the carriage. When they were ready to depart Garet tried to pay Bullen for the horses and the carts but he wouldn't accept. Even though many blamed the Warriors of Vale for the catastrophic results of the Golden Sun Event the Valeans loved them. Many knew Isaac, Garet, Felix, and Jenna as children and all respected them as the guardians of the region. Patcher and Bullen both helped them because they loved the land and the Warriors of Vale were an extension of it.

Garet shook Bullen's hand and climbed up onto the carriage with Isaac over his shoulder. Takeru and Karis followed. Before Tyrell entered Bullen said, “I hope you remember your home Tyrell. Your mother loved this place. I see her in you.” Then he whispered and said with a sly smile, “Your dad may not like it here but that doesn't mean you don't have to. Come back soon!” Then Bullen put something shiny in Tyrell's hand.

Garet sighed.  _ I wish I could like it here too Bullen. I really do.  _ Finally his son climbed onto the carriage with the rest of the group and they were off with a crack of the horses whips. They sped through the village and back onto the road to Kalay.


	12. The Blue Scholar

Rief spent the evening with a pint of beer in his hand. He sat at the Imil inn with his friends as snow fell lightly outside. The inn was mostly empty, few traveled there so close to winter. As soon as a wanderer passed the Bilibin Cave and came into the north, the red and orange leaves of Bilibin's autumn were replaced by ice and snow.

“I hear Bilibin is at war,” Lycus said. His blonde hair was still wet from the snow outside. He was a childhood friend of Rief, and only a few years older. With Rief's sister Nowell, the three would cause mischief and build snow forts. After the Grave Eclipse, Rief found Lycus to be a bit different. The easiness of their friendship just wasn't there anymore. When Rief had gone on his quest, Lycus had become a trapper. It was a common occupation for the people of Imil. At the inn, Rief noticed Lycus' hands still covered in dirt and dried blood from a day of hunting.

“War?” Rief asked his friend.

“Aye, the McCoys are going to invade Morgal.”

“Where'd you hear that?” Rief asked, alarmed for his friend Sveta, who was the queen of that country. Reif calmed down when he remembered Lycus was somewhat of an unreliable source.

Lycus looked down at the beer he held with his dirty hands, “Some pilgrims passed through here. On their way to the Mercury Lighthouse.”

Rief scoffed. He was skeptical. He hadn't seen a single traveler in weeks. Not since he came back from his quest with Kraden. “Whatever you say, Lycus,” he said.

* * *

That night, Rief awoke to the sound of voices outside. He reached out to his night table blindly searching for his glasses. They were cold against his ears and nose. Moonlight and chill air came in from the drafty window. With his glasses and the moon's illumination he found a small piece of flint. He lit a lamp at his bedside and stood up.

In the hallway his father Crown washed his face in the basin. He was a large, built man with a thick black hair and beard. He looked nothing like Rief or Nowell, save the mouth. People always said that Crown, Rief, and Nowell all shared the same thin smile. When he saw Rief in the hallway he gave his son that smile.

“Did I wake you up?” Rief's dad asked him. Rief shook his head.

“I heard people talking outside,” Rief said.

“Me too,” his father said. He walked down the creaky, thin steps of the old cabin to the main floor. It was a cabin built long ago and lived in by generations of the Mercury Clan. Rief didn't mind the creakiness and having to replace rotting wood occasionally, to him the cabin was home. Besides, they never had to replace most of the wood, as it was built from powerfully long lasting trees that had been logged to death by the people of the White Point generations ago.

The cabin's door swung open before Crown got to it. Rief's mother was at the door in her blue jacket. She wiped snow from her shoulders and arms. It began to melt on the wooden floorboards as the cabin's hearth burned greedily through timber. She hung her coat on a bronze metal hook.

Crown peaked out the thin window in the front door. His long beard pressed against the door Mia had just shut. “Is anyone else out there?” he asked.

Mia gave her son a long look. Then she looked at Crown, “There was.”

“Who was it?” Rief asked, genuinely curious. Imilians shut themselves in during the cold autumn nights. It was strange for Mia to be talking so late.

“Alex,” she said.  _ Alex! _

“He's here? In Imil?” Crown rushed to the fireplace. Beside it was a rack of tools. He grabbed the axe.

Mia walked across the room and put a hand on his arm, “He's gone now. He left.”

“Well, we have to follow him,” Crown insisted. He threw on his thick hunter's jacket and his boots without changing out of his pajamas. Rief did the same and followed his parents outside.

It was frigid. Too cold for the coat Rief had chosen.  _ It's already time to pull out my winter coat,  _ he thought. Slow, heavy snow fell steadily. The moon was high and its light's reflection on the fresh snow illuminated the night. Rief could immediately make out the tracks of his mother. They came from the road to central Imil. He made out one other track.

Crown knelt down beside it, “He came from out of town. And he returned the way he came. He never went into Imil.”

Rief's father was a true outdoors-man. He was a trapper and a hunter. After the Golden Sun Event he was part of a group of trappers from the Bilibin area that started a new settlement near Imil. It was the first village in the White Point besides Imil in a long time. 

For thousands of years no village could survive due to the seasonal flu. Imil survived only due to the diligence of the Mercury Clan. But after the Event the flu went away. Crown and his kinsmen discovered the area was ripe for hunting, and so they founded Haresville, named after the arctic hares they trapped. It was then that he met Rief's mother, while trading with Imilians, and eventually moved to Imil to be with her.

“He went southwards. Probably making for the path to the Bilibin Cave. Where do you think he's headed?” Crown continued.

“I don't know,” Mia said. She looked down at the snow and then back up at the road, to the south.

Rief paused for a moment, unsure how to ask his question. “What did he say?” he said.

She looked at Rief, “He said he had reasons for what he did. He wouldn't say what they were, he just wanted me to know he had them.”

“Do you believe him?” Crown asked.

Mia didn't answer. She kept looking. She stared intensely. Rief turned his attention to where she was looking. Imil was built on a small hill, so he could see far. Rolling, snowy hills spotted with pine forests covered the landscape. If it were day Rief would be able to make out the mountains, far in the distance covered in thick haze. It seemed Mia was staring at them.

“We have to follow him,” Crown looked up at the sky, “before the snow covers his tracks. We should leave now.”

“I can't,” Mia said, “I have to find Megan. She still hasn't come home. Justin and I are leaving in the morning to find her.”

Rief had completely forgotten about Megan, “Dad and I can go.”

“No. You need to stay here. Imil needs to have the Mercury Clan here,” Mia said.

“I'll go alone then,” Rief's dad offered.

Mia shook her head again, “No one will follow him. He's too dangerous. Besides, it's possible he only came so that we would follow him. It might be a trap.”

All three were silent. After thinking about what Mia had said Crown spoke up, “If you think it's best, Mia. We'll stay.”

Crown typically followed Mia's lead. He was somewhat of a leader among his own people, the hunters of Harseville and the farmers of his home village near Bilibin. But Crown was also a humble man, and here in Imil, Mia was the town's chief leader. As the leader of the Mercury Clan, her wisdom was respected in all aspects of village life and decisions. She was one of the Warriors of Vale.

Rief found it sometimes difficult to follow his father's lead in this regard. A howl of wind chilled Rief to the bone. After it had gone he found he was still shaking. Rief found himself remembering the horrible memories. In his mind's eye he saw Alex deep in the Alchemy Dynamo, knowingly helping to start the Grave Eclipse. He saw the bodies of its victims.  _ He's a villain. There can't possibly be a good reason for starting the Eclipse,  _ Rief thought.

“We can't just let him go,” Rief said, “We've seen what he's capable of.”

“We have to, son. He absorbed a part of the Golden Sun itself. And the Wise One bestowed the rest into Isaac. Isaac is the only one who can stop Alex. I'll send a raven to Mount Aleph and Kalay immediately to warn him,” Mia said.

_ It's not good enough. Maybe Alex isn't even that powerful. If he was so powerful why didn't he stop us at Apollo's Lens? Surely he would have if he was able,  _ Rief thought. He respected his mother enough not to speak. She was the matriarch of the Mercury Clan. She knew Alex better than any of them. It was her cousin. In some ways Alex raised her from when she was only five years old. He had to believe his mother knew what she was doing.

Crown finally stopped inspecting Alex's tracks. He stood up and stretched his back and arms, “Let's go to bed then. No point standing out here in the cold.”

The family went into their old red cabin. Mia stoked the fire and it blazed warmer against the chill night. Rief lay down on his cot and fell asleep immediately. He dreamed of a pitch black night during the Grave Eclipse. He was alone, trying to save a farmer's family from the endless Shadow Beasts, each with the face of Alex.

* * *

In the morning Rief got up with the rising sun. The snows had finally stopped and in Imil the villagers were setting out to accomplish their daily tasks. In the winter, most Imilians hunted and fished for whatever food they didn't have in their cellars from the summer. This winter they'd have to work harder than most. Not much farming could be done during the summer due to the Grave Eclipse.

Rief saw men and women so old they could barely cast a line ice fishing for their families. Children worked on traps for arctic hares and whatever else they could find in the wintry forests. Others fletched arrows and sharpened skinning knives. Then there were the men and women brushing the heavy snow off the thatch roofs to prevent cave ins. Imil was hard at work, and the sun was barely raised.

When they arrived at Justin and Megan's house his three children were engaged in their own tasks. The oldest sharpened the spikes of an animal trap while the two younger ones husked corn. They smiled and leaped when they saw Rief. He enjoyed their company.

Kim jumped and hugged him. Her blonde ponytail came undone. “Tell us a story,” she shouted. Rief had told the kids many stories, some not completely true, about his journey south.

“Maybe later,” he said.

Justin emerged from the home. He was dressed in a thick winter jacket lined with wolf fur, like his mother's. A _ traveling coat,  _ Rief thought. Rief could see no weapons but suspected they were stowed safely away under his heavy coat. At his pack was a large pack with a rolled up blanket attached.

Mia was similarly dressed. “You're ready then?” she asked. Justin just nodded.

He knelt down and hugged each of his children. He told them to be good for their grandparents. The youngest, Michael, cried loudly to his older siblings' embarrassment. To the oldest, Dirk, Justin gave a small knife. Dirk gave the most solemn nod an eleven year old could give. Rief shook his head, it was sad for a boy so young to need a knife. Rief only had a knife when he turned fourteen. He supposed times were changing.

Mia hugged her husband and then her son. “Stay put Rief, Imil needs a clan member,” she whispered to him.  _ Megan is who knows where, Justin and my mom are on their way to find her. And Nowell is still with Piers. I'm the only one left,  _ Rief thought.

With that the pair headed on the north road towards the Mercury Lighthouse. That's where they were to begin their search, because that's where Megan was initially headed. Rief, his father, and Justin's children watched as the traveles trotted through the hills and eventually disappeared into a thick pine wood a mile off.

* * *

While his father went hunting, Rief spent the rest of the morning with the children. He helped them finish husking the corn. He taught them how to fletch arrows for the hunters. While doing so he told them a story of his travels, they were insistent on hearing one. He told them about the tree curse of Kolima Woods. Kim and Michael gasped audibly at all the twists and turns, some of them made up by Rief. Dirk mostly looked off into the distance silently, but occasionally asked Rief questions.

For lunch he took them to the inn. The kind innkeeper served stew with hare, carrots, and corn. She only let Rief pay after he insisted.  _ She needs the coin more than I do,  _ Rief thought. She ate with Rief and the children in a wooden booth near the wall. There were no visitors in the inn, save Kraden. The old scholar had a permanent room in the inn. He paid the innkeeper in trinkets, often higher in value than the innkeeper realized, and gold he found on the road.

“He left this morning on a hike,” she said when Rief asked about the scholar's whereabouts.

After lunch he sent the kids back to their grandparents who were taking care of them. He went back to the Mercury Clan cabin. He decided to spend the afternoon doing whatever hunting he could. His journey through Angara with Matt had made him more adept at the practice. He still wasn't good by any means. He dressed himself in his thick, wool coat and heavy boots. At his back he put a long hunting bow. He covered his blue hair with a fur hat and armed himself with a quiver full of freshly fletched arrows.

On the path outside his house where Mia and Alex had talked before he saw an old man approaching the cabin.  _ Kraden _ . He was dressed in heavy winter gear. He trudged through the tall snow piles with an exasperated look.

Kraden laughed at the sight of Rief. “A real hunter!” he said.

“You look more ridiculous,” Rief said. One of the small circular lenses of Kraden's glasses was cracked. His jacket had a long tear from shoulder to forearm. Wool was spilling out.

Kraden looked down at himself, “I suppose I do.”

He frowned. “What is it?” Rief asked.

His eyes met Rief's, “I saw a traveler on the road. So I followed him. Through the woods.”

“That's how you got these,” Rief pointed to the jacket rip and smashed lens.

Kraden agreed, “Yes.”

“So why were you following a random traveler?” Rief asked.

“Because I was suspicious. Noone has been through Imil in weeks. And, I thought it was...” he paused, “I thought it was Alex. And, I traveled with Alex for nearly a year. Before the Event. You know the story. This traveler, he walked like Alex. I thought I could see some blue hair from beneath the hood.”

Lycus came running to the pair. His hunter's clothes weren't torn like Kraden's, but his blonde hair was sweaty, even in the cold night. He brushed the snow from his shirt. “Rief! I saw Alex, he was just here!”

“I know,” Rief said calmly, “Kraden just saw him. And, my mother saw him last night. Right here,” Rief said.

“I see,” Kraden said.

“Why did you follow him, Kraden? He's dangerous,” Rief said.

Kraden sighed, “He wasn't alone. He had a troop. They looked like Tuaparang.”

Rief couldn't help but gasp. “Were they making haste?” Lycus asked.

Kraden nodded. Rief's mind raced. “We can't let him get away. Alone he was only one man. One traveler. But with Tuaparang... last time he was in league with them he started the Eclipse. I can't let some disaster happen again, some disaster that I could have stopped.”

“I think you're going to have to put off your hunting trip,” Kraden said.


	13. Kings of the Well

The stone room filled with the distinctive cool air of the Ayuthay depths. Amiti noted that the air had a new dampness after the Alchemy Well had been activated. Ever since Matt and the others came, the entire city smelled of life and renewal. Amiti remembered well the times before. He spent his entire life in the time of the partially activated Alchemy Well. The mysterious adept fiddled with the great machine twenty-one years ago. 

_ My father,  _ Amiti thought and in his mind images of the Tuaparang agent,  _ Arcanus  _ as the Spados and Chalis called him or  _ Alex  _ as he was known to Matthew. If the villain was Amiti's father, Amiti wanted nothing to do with him. He had wished all is life to know his father, imagining him as some great hero. Now that the truth was before him, he constantly pushed it away, into the depths of his unconscious.

Before him lay his uncle, the dying King Paithos of Ayuthay, asleep on a small feather bed. His dark brown hair was soaked with sweat. The golden crown of the underground city lay beside him on a simple bedside table. Around them were Paithos' closest friends and advisers doting on the King in his final moments.

When Amiti finally returned to Ayuthay after the dark days of the Grave Eclipse had ended he found his uncle battered and defeated. Paithos had defended Ayuthay tooth and nail during the assault. Waves of shadow beasts crashed against the walls and roofs of the peaceful city of old. Ayuthay sat in the depths safe from invasion since the great heroes sealed Alchemy thousands of years ago. In the new era after the Golden Sun rose they were finally exposed.

Amiti looked at his dying uncle and saw a man too young to die. He saw a peacetime king destroyed by war. Paithos was kind and gentle, unskilled in the arts of swordsmanship or tactics, but during the eclipse he took up arms with his soldiers. They fought tooth and nail against the mindless monsters at their doors. In the few days Amiti had spent back home in Ayuthay the soldiers all spoke to him of his uncle's bravery in the fight.

Paithos had gashes from the monsters teeth on his shoulders. Darts had pelleted his chest. Now only the wounds remained. Amiti tried to shake the feeling of being responsible. He and his companions had accidentally started the Grave Eclipse. The King let out a groan of pain. Amiti sat at the crooked stool beside his adopted father's bed. He closed his eyes and stretched his arm out placing it on Paithos' cold forehead. Amiti cast a healing spell as he had done many times. Nothing would cure Paithos. Poison from the beast's terrible darts coursed through the King's veins.  _ At least I can relieve the pain,  _ Amiti thought.

Suddenly Paithos' eyes cracked open. He tried to sit up and groaned in pain. Amiti put his hand on Paithos' shoulder. “Rest uncle,” he said.

Slowly Paithos muscles untensed and he closed his eyes. Amiti bowed his head. Then he heard the croaky voice of the King, “I want to speak to my nephew.”

The friends and advisers of Paithos that filled the room looked at each other and Amiti looked up at them. In turn each of them kissed the brow of their king and filed out of the room. When the last of them had gone the great wooden door shut behind them. Amiti remained on the wooden stool.

Paithos opened his eyes and looked at Amiti with grey eyes. When Amiti was a boy he remembered asking his uncle why they were grey when Amiti's were blue. Paithos had been the only family surviving during Amiti's childhood. The King would shake his head and change the subject. Now those eyes were pale and pained.

“My boy,” Paithos said and his grey eyes glistened. Amiti could feel tears against his cheeks and his insides turned in painful contortions. They were silent for a moment until Paithos looked around the room and said, “It's cool in here.”

Amiti nodded, “Cooler than it used to be.”

Paithos smiled. He spoke slowly, every word endowed with intention, “Once it was even warmer. And so much drier. We were desert folk. We were hidden in the great Lamakan Desert. Life was difficult. We had barely enough to keep our city alive.” 

Paithos looked down at his many wounds, “But, perhaps it was less difficult than it is now. It was simpler. That was before you were born, before your father came. Amiti, I told you I never saw his face. That was a lie. I'm sorry.”

Amiti shook his head, “Please don't be.”

“He had azure hair and eyes, just like you. He looked how I imagine the ancient Ayuthay people might have looked, before the desert days. Your mother was swept away by him. He had great power and spoke fair words. He was a mystery to all of us, except perhaps your mother,” Paithos said.

“I know. I may have met him on our journey. He's,” Amiti paused, “not a good man.”

Paithos shook his head, “You're not your father Amiti. I've never seen him in you. I see your mother in you. She was kind and thoughtful. I remember her hair. That's what many remember about her. It was long and shimmered a deep brown. She was very beautiful. The pain of our people spurred your mother to anger and action. I think it's why she loved your father Amiti. He promised to help bring us out of dark times. The pain of others, of her people, was her own pain. Her strength and her agony.”

Tears flowed freely down Amiti's face. They dripped down his chin to the stone tiles at his feet. His uncle almost never spoke of Amiti's mother. As a child when Amiti would ask of her Paithos' grey eyes were sad and he would be silent, sometimes for the rest of the day and the next. Amiti stopped asking.

“This is your gift too Amiti,” Paithos said. “You  _ feel  _ your people's pain. I've seen you care for the wounded soldiers and hungry children. Be angry Amiti. Be the warrior that your mother was. The warrior that I could never be. Ayuthay needs a strong king. Dark times are ahead.”

Memories flashed through Amiti's mind. He was a toddler again on his uncle's lap listening to stories about desert lizards and heroes slaying dragons atop faraway mountains. He was a boy again. He was twelve again showing his uncle his drawings of great seas and forests. He was a teenager again and Paithos watched him train in the art of fencing. He was twenty again and his uncle embraced him in pride after the Alchemy Well was finally fully activated.

“You are a strong and honourable king. We need _you._ You raised me, you're my father. I need you,” Amiti said.

Paithos shook his head, “Honourable maybe, strong no. That's you Amiti. That's why they need you. Not me, you. Trust yourself.”

Amiti nodded. He bowed his head and clasped the hand of the dying king.

* * *

Warm sunlight shined into Paithos' throne room.  _ Paithos' throne room,  _ Amiti thought. Every time Amiti recalled a memory of his uncle or walked where his uncle walked, he seemed to momentarily forget that the king was gone. Paithos died only hours after talking with Amiti for the final time. They buried him south of the great pond where the sun bathed his grave and birds sung in the trees surrounding him.

The soldiers who died protecting Ayuthay from the shadow beasts were given graves of honour next to their late king. Amiti carved a plaque from cool blue stone to commemorate their sacrifices. All the citizens of Ayuthay attended the ceremony. Powerful and important men and women from El-Jei came to pay their respects. None from Sana or Kaocho came. Amiti scowled at the thought of the tyrant King Wo of Kaocho. Their war had stopped with the Grave Eclipse, but the hatred had not.

People from as far as Passaj and Harapa attended Paitho's funeral. Amiti's childhood friend Baghi and his grandfather the Passaj elder Bogho arrived shortly after Paithos' death. They had been the biggest comfort to Amiti in a time when advisers and generals constantly troubled Amiti about next moves. Baghi and Bogho allowed Amiti the space he needed to grieve. Now they stood in the throne room with Amiti at places of honour.

All around them were Paithos advisers and generals. The masters of commerce, war, and so on. Amiti stood in front of the royal seat. The others stood below the steps facing him. They awaited the official coronation of the new King of Ayuthay. The great healer, an old man with a magnificent grey beard, held Paithos' royal crown in his hands. He was a good healer and a good man, but he was not Amiti's friend.

The great healer asked, “Is your majesty willing to take the oath?” He spoke with a raspy, tired voice.  _ The man has seen too many battle wounds,  _ Amiti thought.

“I am willing,” Amiti said clearly and solemnly.

“Do you swear to lead the people of Ayuthay in peace time and protect them in war?”

“I swear it,” Amiti looked at Baghi who gave him a firm nod.

“Do you swear to judge the guilty with justice and mercy?” the healer asked.

“I swear it,” Amiti said.

“Do you swear to honour the old ways and the ancient customs as our King?” the healer asked.

Amiti looked into the old man's eyes, “I swear it.”

“Then you are our king.”

All in the room repeated. “Then you are our king.”

The Great Healer walked up the steps to where Amiti was seated. Amiti bowed his head and the healer placed the golden crown on his head. Amiti held out his hand. From a small wooden box the Great Healer took a ring with a blue gem. He placed it on the index finger of Amiti's right hand. The healer kissed the ring. “May your reign be blessed,” he said.

In turn each of the advisers and generals in the room did the same. The bespectacled Master of Commerce, the absurdly bearded Master of War, the beautifully dressed Master of the Pond, the short but strong Master of the Farms, the lanky Master of Law, and so on.  _ Good men and women, all of them. Regardless of how bothersome they are, they all care deeply for this city,  _ Amiti thought.

Finally Baghi approached and followed the old coronation tradition. “Thank you for being here Baghi,” Amiti said.

“Of course,” the Passaj man said with a serious look.

The only friends Amiti had in the room were Baghi and Bogho. He found himself wishing his companions, Matthew and the others, were there. It was perhaps one of the most important moments of his life. He would spend the rest of his days as Ayuthay's king. He yearned for the presence of his truest friends at his reign's start. Amiti felt he'd see them soon but a sinking ache in the pit of his torso told him it would not be in peacetime.  _ Dark times are ahead,  _ the words of Paithos echoed in Amiti's mind.

Amiti heard short hurried steps in the hallway outside the throne room. The door swung open and a young messenger girl with long black hair scurried into the room. The Master of Law, who was nearest to the door, chastised her, “This is the coronation of your king! Who gave you permission to enter? Where are the guards?”

The girl looked up at Amiti with wide eyes. No one spoke until the door swung open again and behind her the guards entered. “Please forgive the intrusion, your majesty,” the captain of the guard said. Then he looked at the messenger girl whose eyes darted around the room terrified.

Amiti smiled at her, “You're a messenger?”

Her eyes calmed a little and her shoulders relaxed, “Yes. Forgive me your majesty.”

“Of course, what is your message?”

She cleared her throat, “The Prince of Champa requests an audience. He says it's urg-”

The girl jumped suddenly as the door whirled open again. A large warrior with long red hair tied into a ponytail burst into the room. He had a thick metal breastplate that left his strong arms exposed.  _ Eoleo _ !

The captain of the guard placed a strong hand on Eoleo's shoulder, “You were told to wait outside!”

Eoleo shrugged the man's hand away. The captain drew a curved sword of blue steel from his scabbard. “Yield he cried!” The other guards drew similar swords. Some of the masters drew daggers from underneath their cloaks. 

Baghi wielded a short spear in fury at the intruder. He pointed it at Eoleo's throat, “Who are you?”

_ Baghi didn't meet Eoleo,  _ Amiti remembered.

“Enough! Put away your weapons, this man is a friend of Ayuthay.”

Cautiously Amiti's people obeyed. The Master of the Pond spoke out of turn. “I know this man! He is a pirate!” Amiti shot him a warning glance and he yielded.

Amiti walked down the steps to Eoleo. Eoleo's face was lined with doubt and worry. He gave Amiti a firm pat on the shoulder. When they parted Eoleo looked up at the crown and down at the royal ring.

“Your uncle?” Eoleo asked.

Amiti nodded, “He's gone. Poisoned by the shadow beasts.”

“Amiti. I'm sorry.”

Amiti shook his head. “It's over now. We ended it.”

Eoleo looked down. “Not yet. I need your help.”

“What is it?” Amiti asked.

Eoleo met Amiti's gaze sternly. “Emperor Unan has been assassinated. I was there when it happened. Wo is Emperor now, and he means to go to war.”

Amiti's heart sank. Wo was a tyrant, he had invaded and pillaged all his life without thought. Now he was in charge of the largest empire in the world. Amiti was afraid for his people. “He will attack Ayuthay again?”

Eoleo shook his head, “No. Not yet anyways. He means to send his fleet to Belinsk. To take Morgal back.”

“Sveta...” Amiti murmured. Amiti's companion was also the new monarch of a nation. Amiti had been at her coronation. Now she faced invasion.  _ We have to help,  _ Amiti thought.

“Why didn't you go to Belinsk?” Amiti asked.

“They burned my ship. I've sent ravens to warn Sveta but I've had no response. I think they're getting shot down by the Sanans on the Khiren Glacier. I came here by horse. I want to help her, but I can't do it alone. We may need an army to get through the glacier and into Morgal,” Eoleo said.

Amiti nodded. One of the masters shook her head, “Why is this our concern?.”

Amiti looked around methodically at each of the masters and at Baghi and Bogho. Slowly he spoke, “Ayuthay's time as a hidden city is over. We're part of a much larger world now. Kaocho's invasion proved that. And the beastmen need us. The last time Sanans held Morgal they were enslaved for nearly ten years. I won’t let that happen again. Not while I have power to fight it.”

He carefully looked at all his people. He tried to find signs of weakness or support. Finally he continued, “I will go to Belinsk to warn Sveta. Whoever is willing will accompany me. If it comes to war, we will fight.”


	14. A Murder of Crows

Matthew stood in the Elemental Chamber with enemy crossbows pointed towards his face. He had been ambushed. Probably followed. That explained the noise he heard before entering the chamber initially. The slow scrape along the stone floor in the Luna Sanctum. He wondered if it explained the booms he heard flying to the Sanctum the previous night. He remembered the black mass.  _ Could their airships have been stalking me? _

Their leader stepped forward. He had a massive pitch black ax in his hands and wore all black armour except for a purple cape. If it wasn't for his short cropped hair Matthew might have mistaken him for Blados. “You must be Matthew. And am I right to assume you know us?” he wore a filthy smile on his pale face.

Matthew spoke briskly, “What do you want?”

“We're done small talk already? You don't even know my name. I'm Palos. I think you know my brother.” The Tuaparang had a low voice.

_ That explains why I almost thought it was Blados. _

“You followed me here?”

Palos sneered, “Very astute.”

Matthew's spine straightened. “Why?”

“Well why did you come here?” Palos asked. Matthew remained silent.

Palos shifted anxiously, “Silent type? Fine. We don't need you to talk. We just need you to drop the sword and come with us. Is that alright with you?”

“Where are you taking me?”

“Matt, if you wanna talk it has to be  _ reciprocal.  _ I can't answer your questions if I don't even know why you're here. Now drop the sword.”

The Tuaparang raised their crossbows slightly, loaded and ready. Matthew could feel his Djinn Fever jumping around in his pack, eager to be let loose .  _ Always ready for a fight that one.  _ Matthew eyed his enemies. They would have been short work if he had even two of his companions with him. Maybe he'd need just one. But he was alone. He dropped his blade.

One of the soldiers, a particularly ugly one, scurried to collect Matthew's sword and the others lowered their weapons.

“Good. Now I feel much more comfortable,” Palos flashed a grin again. Then his eyes narrowed. “Where is my brother?”

That caught Matthew off guard.  _ How can he possibly not know? _ He concealed his surprise by casting his gaze to the stone floor. Palos' dark eyes looked him up and down, “Don't test my patience.”

To Matthew it seemed that Palos' voice took on an entirely new icy serious tone. Matthew met his gaze. “I don't know,” he answered.

The Tuarparang soldiers shifted and the one who had taken Matthew's sword, the ugly one, rose his crossbow again. Palos' hands gripped the black metal handle of his battle ax, “I'm going to need more than that.”

Matthew's mind raced.  _ Surely he must know that Blados and Chalis were at Apollo's Lens with us? Does he think I know more? _

“On Apollo's Lens they were with us. Right before it fired and ended the Grave Eclipse.”

“What do you mean  _ with  _ you?”

Matthew forced his eyes to not dart back and forth. “They fought us there. To stop us from ending the Eclipse.”

Palos scoffed, “You're more ignorant than I thought.”

“What do you mean?”  _ Surely that's why they were there to stop us. They said as much. What am I missing?  _ “They told us they were there on your emperor's orders.”

Palos' face contorted with ugly fervor, “My brother and his friend have no  _ Emperor. _ ” His head shook and he wore a fake grin upon his face.  _ He said too much. _

“If you don't know where Blados is then we have nothing more to talk about. Let's go.” Palos motioned toward the portal and Matthew followed him and the soldiers to the portal and back into Sol Sanctum. His mind raced looking for a chance to escape.  _ But what do they want with me? Why are they even here? Surely it can't be only to find Blados. _

In the Sol Sanctum the mid morning sun lit up the walls. In other circumstances its beauty would have been something to marvel at. Matthew felt a sharp tug at his arm and instinctively pulled back.

The ugly soldier, who had Matthew's sword, glared at him through a black hood, “Don't fight me. You just might end up falling in the tussle.” The soldier motioned to the sanctum's opening. To where the open skies touched the inside of the mountain. Then it came to Matthew. He smiled.

The soldier scowled, “Something funny?” First a jeer and then a fist flew towards Matthew's face. Quickly he ducked and hurled a kick at the Tuaparang's gut. Before a crossbow could be raised he ripped his sword from the back of the reeling soldier. In the same movement his sword crashed against the nearest soldiers' crossbow turning it into splinters. He took two steps towards the sanctum's opening. A crossbow bolt whizzed past his shoulder.

Palos ran to the edge and failed to grab Matthew before he jumped into the sky. Matthew plummeted towards the earth with alarming speed. His hands struggled to clutch the soarwing’s handles, which was still strapped to his back. Finally the Roc feathers emerged and his descent halted with a sudden jerk that sent his stomach to his throat. Up and away he flew. Behind him he heard shouting.

“Shoot him down!” The booming voice was Palos' and surprisingly loud for being so far away. Matthew saw the tiny figures loud crossbows and fire away. The bolts soared harmlessly through the clouds. He was already woefully out of range.

He veered the soarwing southward. Toward Garet and the rest. They would be disappointed. Matthew was too far too late and now the Wise One was gone. Someone had gotten their first. The hopelessness of it finally hit Matthew. Besides heading for the road to Kalay to scope out Garet he found that it was impossible to plan out his next step. _ If my dad's mission was to save the Wise One then I failed. But why did he need to save him? What happens next? _

Matthew remembered the sanctum he visited and it's massive carvings. It was impossible to make sense of.  _ How did I get there? And why? Was it a vision meant for my father? _

A booming crack and low buzz resounded through the sky and violently shook all the thoughts out of Matthew's mind. Being strapped into the soarwing made it hard to look completely behind you but Matthew craned his neck as far as he could. Even after catching the slightest glimpse there was no mistaking the source of the noise. An airship stalked Matthew.

The airships the Tuaparang operated were completely unlike Piers' ship. The wings of Anemos allowed Piers to navigate plains, rivers and low forests. The Tuaparang vessels could fly much higher and even above mountain ranges. Matthew had only seen glimpses before but the mechanical sounds and movements were unmistakably Tuaparang.

Matthew pushed hard on the soarwing’s handle and exerted all the psynergy he could to accelerate away. Behind him the buzzing intensified and he heard the ship gaining on him. He was within earshot of the Tuaparang themselves now. He heard howling laughter and shouts. But they weren't shooting. Matthew looked down. Another ship glided through the air. The size of it made it appear to be moving slowly but it was keeping pace with Matthew. The ship cut off any possibility of Matthew landing to try and escape on foot.

The airship behind him was so close that Matthew could make out figures on its deck. A large Tuaparang warrior jogged to the ship's bow. A raspy voice pierced the sky, “Come on down. We won't hurtya!” Matthew faintly heard laughing. He felt a blast of dark psynergy graze his hair and Roc feathers of the soarwing. The near impact sent him spiraling. 

He regained control to see, emerging from the clouds in front of him, a third airship.  _ Surrounded.  _ Matthew wanted to shout in frustration. As the ship approached its features became clear. It was very unlike the others. It dawned on Matthew that the ship's hull was actually wooden, a dark oak. Massive violet wings pumped it through the air towards him.

“That is  _ not  _ Tuaparang,” he muttered to himself. Then a blast. Lightning shot from the mysterious craft nearly hitting Matthew and struck the Tuaparang ship behind him. Matthew swerved sharply and rolled through the sky as lightning strikes came one after the other.

He saw a Tuaparang soldier on the ship below him holler and the ship quickly ascended towards Matthew. Simultaneously the Tuaparang returned fire sending streams of dark energy from their ships towards the winged vessel. Matthew ducked and veered to avoid strikes from both sides. He ended up above the battle looking for a way to land an escape out of sight on foot. A massive lightning bolt struck one of the Tuarapang ships and it's engine exploded sending it careening towards the earth. He heard cheering from the wooden airship. Looking down he saw it, there was an opening, where the ship was before it crashed, for Matthew to escape.

He tucked the wings of the soarwing in and nosedived for the opening, taking him near the winged ship. He wildly gained speed sending shivers down his neck until he reached peak velocity. Just then he felt a strike of something knock the wind of him and he spun completely off course. Chaotically he grabbed the soarwing’s handles and extended the wings. Still descending the impact of the air on the newly extended winds made him pull up hard, just in time to see a wooden deck below him. The last thing he saw was a flurry of splinters.

* * *

A sharp pain in his right arm woke him up. He spun around and knocked something metal to the floor. It careened to the floor loudly. He heard someone scurrying away, “He's awake, he's awake!”

Blurry vision started to clear. He began to see his surroundings. A small room. Wooden walls. Another shot of pain from his arm blurred his vision again. Gently he touched the arm to feel the injury. He felt a large divot in his bone. _ It was broken. _

He cast a cure spell to alleviate the pain. Finally his vision came back to him fully. There wasn't much more to see besides the plain wooden walls he had already noticed. He was lying on a hard cot and there was a sling on his arm. He looked around to find his weapons and gear. They weren't in the room with him. His eyes began to close again and he was barely able to keep himself from nodding off. Casting the cure spell had made him weaker.  _ Strange. _

He realized his Djinn weren't with him, without them psynergy took a lot more out of him.  _ Djinn don't leave. Someone took them. _ He focused his mind to prevent sleep from coming. With pain he sat up.  _ I have to get out of here. Wherever here is. _

The door opened and through it walked a short woman with short golden hair that cropped her face. She wore simple brown and beige robes and at her back was a long dark oak staff with a violet gem at its end. Her green eyes looked Matthew up and down and she spoke gently, “You should lie back down.”

She looked genuinely concerned. Matthew remained seated and struggled not to pass out again, “Where am I?”

The woman smiled warmly, “You're on an airship. We're somewhere above Lunpa.”

The woman was clearly not Tuaparang.  _ I must be on the mysterious winged ship.  _ The next question that came out of Matthew's mouth surprised him, “How can we be flying so high?”

The woman laughed, “You're in an Anemos ship.”

_ Anemos.  _ Matthew remembered well the legend of Anemos, the city that became dislodged from Weyard itself after the lighthouses were sealed. The city of the sky. If anyone would have airships it would be the Anemos.  _ But the Anemos is a legend. Myth. _

The woman looked at Matthew thoughtfully, “That's where we're going now.”

Matthew didn't know what to ask next. “Who are you?” he decided on. As the words came out he thought he knew the answer already.

“I'm one of the Anemos. I was once one of your mother's companions. My name is Sheba.”


	15. Sailor's War

Ivan's blonde tied back hair blew in the wind as a chill breeze tingled his face and arms. The Karogal Sea was warm, but Angara was well into autumn and the day was windy. The bow of a ship in the middle of a sea was no place to be without a cloak. Instead Ivan stood with only a green tunic and brown vest. In every pocket was a different cog or screw or tool. He supposed they were all useless for sailing but he took his work with him everywhere he went. Even on board a Kalayan war vessel.

_ War,  _ he repeated the word in his head. It sounded wrong. Sure, there had been war in his lifetime. Sana and Morgal fought each other. City states like Alhafra and Bilibin seized territory whenever then could. But those were far away from Kalay. Besides the minor natural disasters, the Golden Sun Event had meant nothing but prosperity and peace for Kalay and Tolbi. The Silk Road was back up and running better than before after the Lamakan desert disappeared. Both cities were spared from the Eclipse.  _ So why are they attacking? What is Iodem thinking starting a war? _

Ivan wanted to keep an open mind about their intentions; perhaps there was some miscommunication. But he couldn't help feeling furious at Iodem. He never liked the man. When they first met he was a puppet of Babi, a selfish uncaring lord. As his relationship with Iodem developed he only realized that the man didn't truly care about his people's welfare, only their glory. _ What possible reason could there be for him to go to war?  _ Beasts and spirits of every kind still prowled the wilds of Weyard. Earthquakes and catastrophes plagued every continent. It was then more than ever before that the people of Weyard needed to stand together not divided.

Ivan's thoughts quickly drifted to his daughter Karis. He hoped she knew this as well. For it was to be her time to protect Weyard, and that included protecting it from itself. The last word he got was that her party stopped the Grace Eclipse in Belinsk. Had he known she would be caught up in such a dangerous journey he would never have sent her to the Lookout Cabin.  _ Although I suppose I was younger when I went. _

Ivan peeled his eyes to look for any lights on the sea's horizon. In the distance through the fog he could make out Karogal's south coast where Tolbi was. He couldn't see another ship in the sea, which is why they were out there: to scout for Tolbi ships coming too close to the north shore. It was a game of cat and mouse on the sea ever since Tolbi attacked Kalay's western outpost, Port Mary.

“No sightings Ivan. Should we turn back? We could make it before dusk if we head out now,” a voice came from behind him. It was the voice of the ship's captain, Ophelia. She was young, among the generation that was born just after the Golden Sun Event when families were having many children due to the land's increased yield with the return of Alchemy. Young or not she was Kalay's best seafarer. On that day she was wearing a large cloak to protect against the wind and her long auburn hair was untied and messy.

“Yes, turn it around,” Ivan said. Although Ophelia was the captain of her ship Ivan outranked her in the city. He knew little of seafaring though, so it was good to have her around. Ivan spent most of his time creating and engineering, not at sea.

Ophelia hollered orders at the crew and her ship's massive sails began to slowly turn. The deck of the ship creaked beneath Ivan's ship. He bounded down the deck to help the seamen rotate the mast.  _ Time to head home. _

* * *

At the shipyard on the north shore the crew stayed the night. From there to Kalay was a day's hike and the crew did it together. In the days before the war the trip was a raucous one. The sailors would sing folk songs and drink too much ale from canteens along the way. Halfway between Kalay and the north shore was  _ Sailor's Pit  _ which was a massive bonfire pit.

On this particular day the crew was quiet. There was no stop at Sailor's Pit and little ale drinking. The war had unsettled the crew. Every time they went out to sea they were worried they wouldn't come back. They were worried they'd leave parents, spouses, and children behind. They were no warriors, yet the city called on them for war.  _ Maybe it's time to train soldiers.  _ The thought made Ivan sad.

As they arrived in Kalay there was still a sliver of blue between the sun and the horizon. The city was much larger than it was in the days before the Golden Sun. Most of the houses were less than thirty years old. They all followed the same style that Hammet had set out when he founded Kalay. Stone walls with wooden doors and copper roofs. Cobblestone lined every street so carts could easily roll along. Kalay was a warm town, so all the vendors sold their goods outside and were just closing up shop as Ivan and the crew arrived.

The sailors said quick goodbyes and went home to their families in every different corner of the city. Some continued on north, west, and east to villages and homesteads outside the city. Kalay had become more than a city, it was a nation, and in its protection were towns, villages, and farms in the region.

“Sorry to ask you this but can you come with me to see my father?” Ivan felt bad not letting Ophelia go home to her husband and young son but Hammet would want news.

“Well it's my job,” Ophelia said.

The two walked up the main road to Hammet's palace. Along the way they passed Ivan's home. It was a two story stone building with rooms for his daughter and young twin sons Filip and Vadim. When they passed Filip and Vadim were playing in the dirt outside the front door.

“Dad! You're back!” Filip yelled when he saw Ivan. Ivan smiled and hugged his sons. Ophelia smiled at the boys and gave them sea dollars from the shore, as was her tradition. They took them eagerly and said thank you at Ivan's urging.

“Where is your mother?” Ivan asked the boys.

“She's at grandma and grandpas,” Vadim answered, referring to Hammet and Layana.

“Alright,” Ivan said, “let's go, we're going to visit too.”

The group, which now numbered four, continued. Filip and Vadim ran ahead, racing each other to the end of the road. They passed Jenna's house. Isaac and Matt spent more than half of their time there, but the two were also frequently up north at the Lookout Cabin as well. Isaac and Jenna's daughter Beth, a few years younger than Matt, lived there with them. She was good friends with Ivan's daughter. As they passed Ivan noticed that none of the candles were lit in the house.  _ They must be at Hammet's. _

At Hammet's gate stood two guards covered head to toe in iron armour and wielding spears taller than themselves. They were some of the only trained warriors in Kalay. Even they had never seen any real combat. Only sparring in the field and the occasional monster from the wilderness. The sight of them was a sore reminder that Kalay was woefully unprepared for war.

They greeted Ivan and let him into the palace. Ivan found it amusing that they escorted him to Hammet's main room every single time he came to visit. He found them to be good company so he didn't mind for the most part.

They took leave of Ivan, Ophelia, and the boys when they entered Hammet's throne room. It was a very large room at the heart of the palace and one of the oldest in Kalay. Hearths warmed it and an array of carpets covered the floors. Silks from the east arrayed the walls. They were what made Kalay rich and a symbol of its wealth.

Hammet had a large wooden table set up in the middle of the room with chairs all around it. He sat at the end with his signature red bandanna. Ivan's mother Layana hated it. She sat at his right. Her hair was grey and she donned a flowing green silk dress.

Also at the table sat Ivan's travel companion and friend Jenna and a few of Kalay's other important people: other ship captains, the captain of the palace guard, and advisers. They were mostly aged men and women with grey hair to match Hammet's and Layana's. Ophelia was the youngest in Hammet's inner circle.

Jenna gave Ivan a feeble smile. Jenna's long red hair was tied back and she wore simple burgundy garb. She was in a better mood ever since they got word that Matt was okay and the eclipse over but Ivan knew his friend well enough to see that her heart was very troubled. All around the table, people stood up to greet Ivan and Ophelia.

From behind a particularly fat ship captain Ivan caught a glimpse of his wife Gabrielle. Her dark green hair hung freely and she embraced him warmly. She looked at Filip and Vadim. “Where did you find them?” she laughed.

“They were playing at the house,” Ivan said.

“You weren't supposed to leave the palace!” she chastised her sons. Then she turned behind her to Beth who was sitting at the table next to her mother Jenna. She was a pretty girl and a Venus Adept with long golden-brown hair and blue eyes, the same as her father. “Beth, can you watch them in the other room?” Gabrielle asked Jenna's daughter.

“Yup,” Beth smiled. She addressed Filip and Vadim, “Let's go play with your grandpa's astronomy gear.”

She gave a sly look to Hammet who shook his head with a smirk. Filip and Vadim ran out of the room closely followed by Beth.  _ Good luck baby sitting those two,  _ he thought.

Hammet sat down and everyone followed him to the table's chairs. “What did you see?” he addressed Ivan and Ophelia immediately.

“Nothing at all. Quiet trip,” Ophelia said.  _ Very quiet. That's exactly why it was so unsettling,  _ Ivan thought.

“What's this meeting all about?” Ivan asked the group.

Hammet looked around the table at each of his people, “Some of my advisers want me to form a militia. But that's not why I founded this town. That's never what this place was supposed to be. We have guards to keep the peace. But this... this is different. An army is different. What do you think Ivan?”

Ivan collected his thoughts, “You founded Kalay and its people have adopted your disposition. We're peaceful here. Merchants and sailors, not soldiers. Every time I go out with those sailors to scout they're more afraid, and I don't blame them. They're not prepared for this.”

Jenna looked surprised, “So you think we need a militia?”

Ivan sighed, “I honestly don't know. All I know is that I don't want it.”

Ivan's wife Gabrielle took his hand, “If only Tolbi would return our messages. We could work this out. There must have been something... some reason they're doing this.”

“You're exactly right,” Hammet said, “Which is why I don't want to build an army. We can't escalate. It's just not who we are. Ophelia, you're on the sea the most. Would you say they're getting more aggressive? Is an attack imminent?”

“Hammet...” she started. Her auburn looked more red than usual in contrast to her face as it paled in the face of Hammet's question.

“You can't ask her that! It's too much,” Layana chastised her husband.

Hammet nodded, “Ophelia please, what do you  _ think? _ I trust you.”

Colour returned to her face slightly, “I  _ think  _ that they're not getting more aggressive. That's not to say they're getting less aggressive. Last week when we went out too far they sent a volley of arrows at us. Every time that happens they all land harmlessly in the water. But at least once they should have been in range. They should have been able to hit us.”

“This confirms my suspicion. Whatever happened, or whatever is happening in Tolbi, they're not planning an invasion. They're acting the same as us. We've sent warning shots as well have we not?”

The ship captains around the table, including Ophelia, nodded in agreement. One piped up, “But what about the trading vessel they attacked? The one headed towards Lemuria?”

“Ei,” Hammet nodded, “What started all of this. The ship is sunk is it not? All we have is fishermen's rumours. We don't know what really happened.”

“The trading ship being sunk is why we're acting standoffish. But if it wasn't them then there are two questions: who did it, and why is Tolbi acting standoffish?” Jenna asked.

Ivan continued her train of thought, “And if they did do it and they are the aggressors, which the lack of messages seems to imply, then why aren't they launching a full attack?” 

“But the lack of messages doesn't necessarily  _ mean  _ they're the aggressors. They might be scared,” Gabrielle added.

“All good points,” Hammet said. “There is too much uncertainty. We can't do it. It is very possible it won't come to war, and I will hold on to that hope before doing anything rash like drafting an army which could cause a war by itself.”

The majority of Hammet's advisers nodded in agreement and expressed consensus, some more enthusiastically than others. A few just silently shook their heads. Ivan knew that they were scared that we'd be caught unprepared, and he didn't blame them. He himself wasn't sure of his father's decision.

“There will be a time when this is all over and either we were right to decide this or we were wrong. We can't know. For now the important thing is that we stand  _ together.  _ Do we?” Hammet asked his people. Without exception they heartily agreed.

Ivan was ready to go home and sleep the stress of the day away. He smiled at his beautiful wife and put a hand on her shoulder and the long green hair that rested upon it as he got up to go. Suddenly a rap sounded on the door and a messenger entered without prompting, “Master Hammet! The Warriors of Vale come from the north! Isaac is gravely injured!”

Jenna's face turned white and she ran out of the room.


	16. The Wanderer

The wanderer remembered the quiet village nestled between mighty mountains. He recalled his mother pulling a thick wool coat over his body. A fire crackled, warming the cottage against the dim dusk. His sister played Alcazar against his father. In turns they moved small wooden pieces around a thick board. Each tried to occupy the other’s Alcazar. His sister laughed and swatted her father’s hand, stopping him cold in his sly attempt to cheat. Long shadows of their bodies, cast by the hearth, flickered against the walls.

“Time to go Felix,” the wanderer’s mother spoke softly. The wool coat felt scratchy against the boy’s skin. He tugged at it heedlessly. His mother took his hand and the two walked out the front door and into the snow.

It was deep winter, the days were at their shortest. All the villagers were bundled away in their beds for the cold night ahead. All except the boy and his mother. They walked down the snowy path by the frozen river. The wanderer looked out for hares and foxes, but they had all gone into their deep dens for the winter.

The boy’s mother took him past the old sanctum, he looked at the old symbols carved into the stone countless years ago. They seemed to glow against the twilight. The wanderer’s mother led him along the path, towards the mountain. The great lumbering peak which towered over the valley and the river.

At the face of the mountain stood two massive doors covered with the ancient, unreadable symbols. The boy’s mother grabbed his hand, “Felix, you come from a long line of guardians. Guardians of this mountain. When I was a girl, your age, my father told me the same thing. He told me that I must protect this mountain, and the sanctum deep within it. His mother told him the same, and on and on. For generations our family has protected this mountain.”

“But why? What’s inside?” the wanderer asked.

His mother frowned, “I’ve never been inside. It’s forbidden, unless absolutely necessary. No one has attacked the mountain in many years. If they do, and I’m gone, it will be your duty to stop them.”

“How?”

“You’re an adept Felix. Just like me. Our duty, to protect the sanctum and its secrets, is the reason we have these powers.”

The boy was silent. He thought on this for a long while before asking, “Why are you telling me this? Why now?”

His mother shrugged, “I was thirteen when your grandfather told me, and I was his oldest child. Just like you are now. When he told me, he gave me this.” She held out her hand and in it was a black metal ring.

The wanderer took into his bare hand. The cold of it shocked him. It was as if the void itself was in his palm. Its smooth round surface reflected no light at all. On it he could faintly see symbols. Similar to the ones on the door of the sanctum; some ancient language long forgotten.

“What is this?”

His mother sighed, “I’m not sure. It’s a family heirloom. It might have to do with our family’s responsibility. I’m sorry I don’t know more. Our family once had great knowledge of the secrets of Alchemy, and we were charged with a great burden. To protect Weyard. Now that knowledge is lost, but the burden remains. I’ll tell you what my father told me: unrest will come, and our family’s diligence will be tested. I just pray it’s long after we’re gone.”

The wanderer’s mother touched his face gently, her eyes glistening. He nodded and slipped the dark ring onto his finger.

* * *

In a dim cave deep in the frozen south, the wanderer rotated the ring in his fingers. He felt its markings in his palm. He felt its weight, and its power. The shadow of his body flickered against the cave's ice covered stone walls. A small fire burned greedily through dried bramble. Next to it was the charred bones of a hare. The wanderer warmed his hands against the flame's dry heat. A thick fur covered his legs. He felt his eyes start to close. 

He jolted awake at the sound of rustling outside the cave. His hand instinctively felt for the cold leather of the hilt of his sword. His fingers flexed around it. He peered out the cave's small opening. All he could see was white. The viciously cold winter storm that drew him into his shelter raged on. The rustling stopped. The wanderer must have scared off whatever was seeking shelter from the snow. His hands relaxed.

He had been inside for three days. He sensed the storm was coming, so he had been able to collect enough food for a few days. But he was in short supply. He scratched his rough beard and gazed out at the blizzard hopelessly. He felt himself longing for his family. Longing for his sister, the fire adept, to provide heat. For his friends to make him laugh. Like a flood, memories of their journeys came back to him.

He remembered being in this cave before. He led his group there years ago. He remembered the old scholar roasting arctic hares for them. He smiled. He remembered the young Jupiter adept playing memory games with the Lemurian warrior. He remembered his sister sitting quietly, listening. Then, like a knife to his gut, he remembered the last time he saw her. He remembered leaving the smokey ruins of the crater, leaving the lonely lookout cabin, for the last time. She couldn't understand. She would never understand what they meant to her.

He remembered the Proxians in their snow village. He remembered the Proxian warriors. He couldn't shake the look on their faces when he failed them, when the warmth left their hands. The knife in his gut twisted when he remembered what happened after. When he remembered  _ her _ . He shook his head and wiped cold sweat from his neck.

The last time the wanderer had been in the cave was when he journeyed to the icy blue Tundaria Tower. With his party, they retrieved a prong of the ancient Ankohl Trident. The one check to might that was Poseidon. But there were deeper secrets in Tundaria. In the far south, over miles of rocky hills, was the towering mountain. It sat on the edge of all things, seemingly ready to fall into the abyss that surrounded all of Weyard. The wanderer knew no name for it. He suspected he was the only one who knew of its existence.

Deep inside was a sacred shrine to the power of alchemy. The wanderer had been to many such places. The Great Lighthouses, the Elemental Rocks, even Anemos Sanctum itself. But this was far different. The only place he could liken it to was Sol Sanctum, deep within Mount Aleph. The wanderer believed the sanctum in Tundaria was the opposite, the pair, to Sol Sanctum.  _ Luna Sanctum,  _ he thought. The closest place to a home he had since departing the lonely cabin. Everywhere he went in Weyard, he always circled back there. 

He waited impatiently for the snows to cede. He was again drawn to the sanctum. He needed to return to the map. The great stone map within Luna Sanctum. The map directed him to places where the power of Luna was unusually strong.

He had used it to help stop the Eclipse. He followed the boy's group around Weyard, he ensured that they would not fail their quest. He went with them to the Apollo's Lens. He witnessed their victory there. He was ready to step in at any moment but he did not have to, and he was thankful. He couldn't bear to be recognized by the old scholar. He couldn't bear to have seen the look of betrayal. So he waited, watched. He decided to intervene only if he needed to.

When it was over, almost immediately, he felt that draw more powerfully than ever. The draw to the map. Something was deeply wrong, there was an imbalance somewhere in the great world. He could feel it. The map would tell him where it was. It always did.

* * *

The next morning the crack of dawn shot through the small opening in his cave and bright on the wanderer's bare ankles. He sat up to see his smoldering fire still barely ablaze. Outside the cave's opening, there was no white. Only the grey-blue of clear skies in the southern reaches. Only an expert could tell the difference between clear skies and cloudy in Tundaria. The blackness of the abyss, so nearby, muddied the skies.

The wanderer pulled his wool pants down to cover his ankles, and over them he laced his thick leather and fur boots. Over his torso he wore a black coat trimmed with white fur from the arctic creatures he hunted. He tied his long hair back into a ponytail. His hair, together with his long dark beard, warmed his face and head. Finally, he tied his pack to his back and climbed out of the cave.

The light made him squint. He gathered his bearings on the stone face of the hill on which his cave was situated. Tundaria was too far south for trees, but further north he could make out foggy patches of shrubs dotting the landscape. All around him arctic creatures emerged from their dens. He saw a squirrelfang desperately scurry in pursuit of an arctic hare. The hills were coming alive again.

In the north he could see the faint silhouette of the Tundaria tower. But the wanderer turned his attention southward. He had to get to Luna Sanctum as quickly as possible. There were no roads this far south, there were barely any roads in all of Tundaria. After the Golden Sun Event, and the great interest and outburst in alchemy that came with it, some adventurers made their way south to witness Tundaria Tower for themself. But none went further than that. Only the wanderer knew the old ways, the secret ways. The path to Luna Sanctum.

He broke into a light jog along the stony hills, moving south always. He recognized every ice lake, every crag, and every turn in his path to the mountain and the sanctum within it. It was only a days jog for him, if he started early. When the wanderer discovered the path, so many years ago, he began to suspect it was once an ancient way, before Alchemy was sealed. There were archaic markings in the stone, like none other the wanderer had seen before.

When the sun was setting, he reached the final stage of his journey. The mountain and the abyss dominated his view. To the west he could see the jagged buildings and walls of the ancient town. Whenever the wanderer looked at the town, it felt unnaturally dark. Even on the brightest days he could barely see its outline.

The wanderer had discovered the town the same day he discovered Luna Sanctum. He tried to visit it, but only once. As he approached it dark phantoms began to haunt his every step. Even the town seemed to croak in pain. He had felt his body begin to weaken. He was unable to utilize psynergy. The effects were similar to that of the vortexes which plagues Weyard, only worse. The most powerful of adepts didn't dare approach that place any further. He turned back and was left to wonder. The wanderer sighed as its shadow pierced him. He looked away and continued onward.

The thin path, with steep crevices on either side, lead him upwards, towards the two giant black doors. The same as the doors for Sol Sanctum, the wanderer recalled, only darker. There were two sets of stairs on either side, and four statues of ancient robed figures.  _ Just like Sol Sanctum.  _ The wanderer put his hand against one of the statues. He felt its cold. The doors opened for him, and he walked in.

The tunnels wound for miles, and it was nearly midnight before the wanderer reached his destination: the great stone map. In one of the sanctum's largest rooms, the map stretched from wall to wall. The wanderer could see the continents, mountains, rivers, and forests of Weyard, in astonishing detail. The map permeated the power of alchemy. Its colours changed and moved fluidly. In places it glowed golden, others deep purple.

The wanderer understood what this meant. He was likely the only one who could. The places of gold were spots of great elemental power like the lighthouses, the elemental rocks. The places of purple represented the void, the power of Luna. The counter to the elements, the counter to Sol. On the map, all around the outside of Weyard was the deep purple, representing the abyss.

Dots of deep purple spotted the map. They represented the vortexes. The wanderer used the map many times to locate the vortexes. He used the map to save many people from their destructive power, all around Weyard. Eventually, the map began to call to him. When there was a deep disturbance, a great destructive presence of Luna in the world, he would feel drawn to the south, drawn to the map. It would direct him.

He felt this draw stronger than ever before. He scoured the map to locate the source of the disturbance. All he could see was the typical small purple dots of the vortexes. Until he craned his neck. He gaze went up and up and up, to the northern reaches, the farthest away one could get from Luna Sanctum.

The purple glow there was more intense than anything he had seen. It formed a perfect line from the edge of Weyard deep into the northern reaches, nearly reaching Prox. Everything the wanderer had seen on this map before, was natural palpitations of Weyard or the machinations of the ancient structures, the lighthouses and the Eclipse Tower. This was new. It was a straight line, a perfect line. Nothing natural could look like this.

This was man made, the Wanderer realized. Someone was channeling the power of Luna,  _ intentionally _ .


	17. The Warriors of Kalay

“Take me to him!” Jenna nearly shouted at the Kalayan messenger in Hammet's palace. She ran out the door of the large room without looking back to see if anyone was following her.  _ Isaac is gravely injured.  _ This is exactly what she feared. Isaac and Garet were stuck in the heart of the Eclipse. And there had been no communication. Every raven they sent to the Lookout Cabin returned with the sent message still in tow. They wouldn't go into the darkness.

_ But of course he had to stay. He always has to stay,  _ thought Jenna. Isaac felt it was his duty alone to watch and guard Mount Aleph and Sol Sanctum. The messenger bounded down the hallway after her and out the door into the Kalayan night. The stars were beginning to rise and the air was warm. He led her through the streets and to the north end of the city. She could sense from behind her that Ivan and Gabrielle, Ivan’s wife, were following her. Just then she saw them. Leading four horses which pulled a carriage behind it into the city was Garet. He walked casually with his hand resting on the lead horse's mane.

“Here they are! They're here! The Warriors of Vale are here madam!” the messenger shouted excitedly to Jenna.

“I see!” she snapped. She ran up to Garet, “Garet! Where is he? Where's Isaac?”

Garet put a hand on her shoulder to steady her and she shook it off. “He's in the carriage. He's  _ fine. _ We just have to get him to Himi in Yamata City. He'll be fine.”

_ Himi? Yamata City? What on earth is he talking about?  _ She gave him a confused look and ran to the back. Following the carriage Jenna briefly glimpsed Karis, Tyrell, and a tall warrior who Jenna didn't recognize. She climbed into the carriage and sure enough there was Isaac, sleeping.

Jenna put a hand on his forehead. He didn't feel warm but he wasn't sleeping, he was unconscious. She felt his pulse by placing two fingers on his neck. “Wake up,” she whispered and felt hot tears in the wells of her eyes.

Forcing as much calm as she could manage she turned around to where Garet was peeking into the carriage. Suddenly she said, “Where's Matt? Where is my son?”

Jenna's daughter Beth came running up from the road just in time to hear the words. She looked as if she was about to cry. Garet sighed.

* * *

It was approaching midnight by the time Jenna heard everything Garet had to say. After the scene on the street she calmed and cleared her mind. Ivan's sister Hama taught her how years ago. They went to Jenna's house and sat around on the rooftop patio where Jenna had tables and chairs and a fire pit set up to enjoy the warm Kalay evenings.

That was where Garet and the others told her everything that had happened. From Isaac's visions of Sol Sanctum and the Wise One, to finding him on the crater with Takeru the samurai from Yamata City, to Himi the sage who had visions that she could help Isaac, to Matt leaving to go to Sol Sanctum, and finally to their trip to Kalay. Garet's confidence that Isaac would be okay started to rub off on her.

Jenna supposed she had seen worse. Curses, poisons, and haunts had plagued her and her companions on their trips. Each one made them eventually lose consciousness. Sometimes only a specific healer could revive them. But an adept was tough. An adept could use psynergy to protect themselves, to keep themselves alive, even when they didn't realize they were doing it. And Isaac was the most powerful adept in Weyard. Surely he would survive. Any other alternative was too terrible to imagine.

For a while they sat in light conversation as friends caught up with one another. Jenna, Garet, Karis, Tyrell, Takeru, Beth, Ivan, Gabrielle, and Ophelia the sailor were all there, some standing and some sitting. Ivan's sons, Filip and Vadim, had been put to bed despite great resistance. Isaac rested on his own bed in his own home and Jenna was glad for it.

His daughter, Beth, rested her head on her mother's shoulder. Jenna gently stroked her hair. She was happy to see her friends Karis and Tyrell and amazed at the stories of their travels through all Angara. Jenna sensed she was more than a little bit jealous. Beth was fifteen but she was so strong. Jenna had no doubt she'd be okay, no matter what happened with Isaac and Matt.  _ My brave little girl,  _ Jenna reminisced about her daughter as a fearless tyke.

Jenna herself was amazed at Matt's quest. She longed to meet his new companions, especially the beastman girl Sveta. Finally she brought the conversation back to their duties and their plans, “I'm coming with you Garet. To Yamata City.”

Garet smiled, “I figured you'd be coming. Think we can get along for yet another trek?”

Jenna laughed. Her heart felt just a little bit lighter. “We'll need a ship. We should leave in the morning.”

“Well you should take our best. Especially if Isaac's fate depends on it,” Ivan said and he looked over at Ophelia who was standing resting her arms on the stone fence looking out at the street. When she looked at the sailor Jenna noticed the sky and how the stars were shining extra brightly on that night with the moon shining pale light onto the patio.

Ophelia turned around to look at the group, “I'd be happy to take them Ivan... but my place is here. Kalay needs me. Especially now.”

Ivan shook his head, “You're not a warrior. Your skills will be best used taking them to Yamata City. No one else can do it faster.”

“It's not that I don't want to Ivan. Trust me, I do. But I  _ can't  _ abandon my city. My son...” Ophelia ran a hand through her unkempt reddish hair.

Ivan sighed. “I don't think you've ever heard this Ophelia, but Isaac has a piece of the Golden Sun in him. A very ancient power. The Wise One himself imbued it in him. He's the most powerful adept in the world. If this war gets out of hand, it's possible he'll be the only one who can stop it. His fate is tied to all of ours,” Ivan surprised Jenna with the recounting. Some things were not meant to be heard outside the Warriors of Vale. Jenna hoped that Ophelia could be trusted.

“The Wise One? He’s real?” Ophelia was astonished.

Ivan smiled and nodded.

“If you think I should go, and if Hammet allows it, then I will go,” Ophelia said.

“I do and he will,” Ivan responded.

“Then I'll go. Will you come with us?”

Before he could answer Jenna shook her head and looked at Ivan, “You can't. Someone has to stay here to hold everything together until we get back. You'll be the last Warrior of Vale in Kalay. Unless Garet stays.”

“No,” Garet said firmly, “I have to go. I'm not failing him again.”

Jenna looked at him. Garet's face was highlighted with more doubt and stress than it ever should have been.  _ You're supposed to be our goofball. Don't blame yourself for this Garet,  _ she thought but all she said was, “Thank you.”

“We're coming too!” Tyrell spoke up.

“No Tyrell,” Garet shut him down. The younger Mars adept looked annoyed. Garet continued, “We don't know what we'll find in the Karogal Sea. It's possible the Tolbi fleet won't let us out to the Great Eastern Sea. They may sink us just like they sunk the trading vessel. It's just too dangerous.”

“And you should stay here with your family Karis. We've only just got you back after so long,” Ivan agreed. Karis looked split but she nodded.

“But it's safe here? Isn't Tolbi gonna invade any second?” Tyrell asked his dad.

“We'll get back before anything happens. That's why we're taking Ophelia. You're fast right?” he looked at her.

“Of course,” she said.

“We'll be sure to send you all out well stocked. It will be Jenna, Isaac, Garet, and Ophelia?” Gabrielle asked.

“And my crew,” Ophelia chimed in.

“And of course I'm coming. Bringing Isaac to my home is my mission given to me by my parents,” Takeru, the samurai Jenna met that night, spoke up. He was tall and powerful with a face that reminded Jenna of his mother, the beautiful lady Kushinada of Yamata City. Jenna regretted she didn't know the family better, she loved her time on their island but found it was difficult to get out to.  _ That's one good thing about this trip,  _ she thought.

“We'll leave at dawn tomorrow,” Jenna decided for the group, “Will your sailors be ready Ophelia?”

The captain nodded. With that the group went to bed. Ivan and Gabrielle housed Garet and Takeru in their spare room and Tyrell slept in Matt's room. Karis had her own bedroom to return to. Jenna went to her own bedroom. It was a simple small room with oak wood floors and one bed in the middle with maroon red covers. The moonlight lit up the room.

Without washing her face or teeth Jenna lied down on her bed next to her husband and shut her eyes. The covers were usually too warm for the Kalayan nights but that night Jenna was cold. She pulled every cover over her and Isaac. She grasped his hand in hers and for the first time all evening allowed her emotions to come back. She knew how to delay them, Hama taught her, but no matter what they always came back. Tears wet her cheeks.

“Please wake up,” she whispered to Isaac next to her, “We  _ need  _ you.”

* * *

Jenna woke up without prompting as the morning sun shined through her window and onto her face. She found herself sweating and threw the heavy covers off her body. Sitting up in bed she checked Isaac's pulse. She stood up and looked out the window to see the sun well in the sky. Dawn was gone.  _ We should still leave today,  _ Jenna thought. She realized it may have been a blessing that they didn't leave at dawn. Garet and Takeru looked exhausted from the rushed ride to Kalay. Jenna was touched to know that they pushed themselves so hard for Isaac's sake.

Jenna dressed herself in traveling gear for the first time in a while. It was her usual array of maroon and red tunics and breastplates to choose from. When she was attired she opened a creaky crate that sat at the foot of her bead. In it were hunting knives, staves, and swords. She picked out a rapier and knife which she strapped to her belt.

Later she loaded Isaac back onto the carriage Garet had got from Bullen. Garet, Takeru, Ophelia and her crew gathered at the south end of the city with the carriage and only two horses. There to say goodbye was Beth, Ivan, Gabrielle, Karis, Tyrell, Hammet, Layana, and Ophelia's family. They would only be using the carriage for Isaac and some gear so the others were sent back to Bullen with more supplies for the eclipse survivors.

Jenna noted that Ophelia had tied back her wild hair for the first time. Her and her sailors were garbed in traveler's tunics instead of their usual gear. Ophelia was wearing a weapon. A thin short sword. Her sailors had an array of swords, axes, and spears. They looked odd and Jenna hoped they wouldn't have to use them.

Ophelia kissed her husband and young son goodbye. Jenna felt a pang of guilt. Ivan looked even worse. He was asking her to leave her family behind while he couldn't do the same. He expressed an apology to her.

“It's okay. I trust you,” Ophelia responded. 

Jenna went to her own family, her daughter Beth, and embraced her, “I'm sorry we're leaving. Ivan said you can stay with them. I don't want you alone in the house.”

Beth nodded and didn't cry. Jenna ran a hand through her daughter's hair. She was reminded of herself at that age. Jenna lost her parents and brother when she was fourteen. And now Beth's parents were leaving, and her brother was gone too. Jenna wanted to make it all go away for her daughter. All the fear.

“We'll be back,” she whispered.

Jenna looked over to see Garet and Tyrell conversing quietly. Tyrell still looked torn to not be coming. But she sensed he had grown up a lot since going to Belinsk with Matt.

_ Time to get going,  _ Jenna thought. She loathed to lose a single minute. “Alright! Let's get out of here!” she said to everyone and to Ophelia she said, “Lead the way?”

The sea captain nodded and headed down the path. Jenna gave her daughter one last hug and kiss before heading south to the shipyards.

She walked side by side with her old friend Garet. “First time I took this path we were saving you and the entire world,” he jested.

“I think you're remembering things wrong. Weren't you the  _ villains  _ at that point? You wanted to keep alchemy sealed.”

Garet laughed, “That's what the Wise One asked us to do! I guess we were all pawns in that psycho's game.” He smiled and she laughed.

_ There it is. My old goofy Garet back,  _ Jenna thought. She let herself feel, for once, that it was all going to work out.


	18. The Edge of the World

The night her father died was clear and starry. A sharp wind cut through the isolated winter village. Screaming and the sound of steel filled the air. The marauders ran wickedly through the icy roads, their paths lit by the bright stars and burning cabins. Mia’s father stood on the frozen river surrounded on all sides. Her vision blurred. Someone grabbed her by the coat. Her stomach twisted as she was thrown over a man’s shoulders and carried away from the fight. 

Inside the timber house, Mia clutched the old woman’s arm and cried. The woman stroked the young girl’s hair and spoke soothing words, none that Mia remembered. The door creaked open. Her cousin stood in the doorway, his slender figure looking ready to collapse. He held an empty blue coat, stained maroon with frozen blood.

“She’s gone,” he dropped the coat as the old man hurried to help him stand. Mia ran to the door to embrace him.

* * *

Mia awoke suddenly from the dream. The shrieking winds of that starry night transformed seamlessly into the winds of the moment. Mia lay awake on a thin wool blanket beneath a small canvas tent, with furs piled on top of her shivering body. The north has always been cold, Mia reminded herself. She glimpsed the morning sun from a crack in the fabric sheets that made up her tent.

Mia sat up and opened the flap wider. The brilliant blue light of the Mercury Lighthouse pierced the sky. Mia remembered the hopeless feeling that accompanied its ignition. The betrayal she felt when Alex helped the Proxian warrior to his feet. All her life they protected that lighthouse, only to fail at the last possible moment. Her father taught Alex and her the same things every day: the arts of healing, the importance of protecting the lighthouse.

She still remembered her father’s lessons well. She remembered his short blue beard and kind face. When she tried she could even remember her aunt. Alex’s mother. Most of what Mia remembered was her beauty. Sometimes she could remember a word or a phrase she spoke. Mia was only three when she left. A little older when she returned on the starry night. That didn’t stop her from having the dreams. Many nights, especially in the trying chapters of her life, she saw Alex holding his mother’s bloody coat in the doorway.

Mia gazed at the beacon. She recalled feeling confused when it was lit and Hermes’ water blessed the townspeople. Why wouldn’t my father have wanted this, she had thought. They were both, Mia’s father and aunt, wrong. The lighthouse needed to be lit. It was part of the series of events that saved Weyard from certain destruction. She wondered if Alex knew that when he joined Saturos and Menardi all those years ago. She thought back to a few nights ago when she encountered her cousin in Imil and wondered what he knew now. Was it possible that there was some benevolent cause that guided him?

She shook her head and remembered what the Wise One told Isaac. Alex had gone to Mount Aleph to absorb the Golden Sun on the night the Mars Lighthouse was ignited. To achieve personal power. Mia remembered him pushing her father during their lessons. He always wanted to learn more. To her father’s dismay, he achieved powers of psynergy increasingly more dangerous. 

Mia sighed and shook the furs off from on top of her. The northern cold cut through her to the bone. She shivered and hastily drew her arms through her fur coat. Pulling her boots on she stepped out of the tent. Dawn had arrived and the snow sparkled yellow. She strapped her staff to her back and packed her canvas tent as tightly as she could. Carrying the supplies required to make it through the mountains in the north was difficult work. On her she had two pieces of canvas for a tent, her staff, a fur coat, several other pieces of fur, a wool blanket, dried meat and cheese, and a loaf of hard bread.  _ I hope I find her soon. _

She had been on Megan’s path for the past several days. Justin had started the trek with her, but went home the day before with a ruthless winter flu. Being married to a trapper offered Mia with a bit of experience in tracking. Every icy footstep that she saw, or scrambled fire, gave Mia more hope. These tracks were certainly Megan’s doing. She had even found a piece of her coat. You’d have to be mad to travel this far north this late into autumn. You’d have to be mad, Mia thought again and smiled to herself. Not even Crown hunts here this time of year.

She got back to the task at hand. She continued walking in the direction that Megan’s path had tracked so far: straight north-west from Imil. That path had led Mia into the heart of the extensive mountain range that separated White Point, the country where Imil was situated, from the Northern Wastes, where Prox and the Mars Lighthouse were. People rarely traveled those mountains. There were no footpaths, no lanterns or inns. Mia herself never even knew there was a village on the other side until she went there. For most people, Imil was at the very edge of the world.

But as almost always, it’s right when you think you’re at the edge that you discover a whole new world. It’s at that moment that your perception shifts and your eyes are opened. It happened to Mia in Contigo when she learned the true nature of the Lighthouses, and it happened again when she went to Prox. At this point in her life, Mia would hesitate to say that Prox itself was even the true edge of Weyard. Who knew what secrets lay waiting in the void.

As Mia trudged slowly through the ice and snow she caught out of the corner of her eye a pile of small wooden lumps. She went over to them quickly. Wood was exceedingly rare in the northern mountains. They were leftovers from a fire. She held her hand to them. Just ever so slightly, they were warmer than the air. She’s close.

Encouraged, Mia quickened her pace. As if to help her along, the wind died down and the clouds parted. The meager sunshine offered welcome warmth. The morning passed this way as she stayed the course, traveling up and down two foothills between the larger mountains. The sun reached its highest point of the short day, and Mia had made significant progress. But the next sign of Megan nearly broke her heart.

It was the carcass of a massive shadow monster, of the kind that plagued Angara during the Grave Eclipse. It looked something like a bear with long teeth and sunken eyes, but its skin was smooth and black. It was far larger than any bear Mia had ever seen, or even any shadow monster for that matter. Mia put a hand on its partially frozen body and felt her psynergy weaken. It hadn’t been dead long. How could it have survived after the Eclipse?

She continued forward, and promptly got her answer. She reached the crest of a small hill, and looked down into the valley to see a colossal psynergy vortex. Part of the Mourning Moon she realized. The dark energy of the vortex compliments the shadow monster, she guessed. Her psynergy weakened again. For a second she looked for ways around the vortex. Quickly she realized what she had to do.

She adjusted her pack and headed down the hill, straight for the vortex. If Megan was down there, she’d need Mia’s help. Every step she took Mia felt weaker. The clouds covered the sun again. The vortex took up a larger and larger portion of her view. She glanced from side to side over and over. Looking desperately for any sign of Megan. It wasn’t long now before the power of the vortex would outdo her. She’d be forced to turn back, or faint and freeze to death. 

Just then she saw it. A huddle of blankets and furs. Shaped something like… Megan’s coat. It had to be. She trudged towards it more quickly. Her vision blurred.

The sound of rumbling bones startled her and she turned around to see a black skeleton. It’s body crashed into her own bringing both down into the snow. She opened her palm to let out a blast of psynergy but… nothing. The vortex.

Instead she threw the skeleton off her and rolled away, bounding to her feet. The shadow monster rose its sword high above its head, preparing to crash it down on Mia’s skull. Just in time, Mia retrieved the staff from her back and swung it at the enemy. The blue stone at its head crashed into the dark ribs of her enemy and the monster exploded into a hundred pieces.

Mia turned back to the coat which lay unattended to only a few yards from the vortex. Why would she leave her coat, Mia’s heart sank. Three more bone men were sprinting towards her. She ducked the sword of the first and swung her staff at the legs of the second. It tripped and landed face first into the snow.

The third’s sword swung wildly, narrowly missing Mia’s arm. She grabbed its ribs with her gloved hand and pushed it into the snow. But the first was ready to swing again. Mia parried its dull blade with her staff, and returned the favour. Her strike landed and the skeleton shattered.

The two monsters who Mia had sent into the snow again were standing again. They moved slowly this time. They paced a patient circle around Mia. Their loose jaws chattered violently. Their arms made creaking sounds as they raised their blades.

Mia’s vision blurred again as she struggled to keep both skeletons in her view. Out of the corner of her eye the vortex seemed to surge and grow. The black of it was overwhelming in the white backdrop of the snowy mountains and cloudy sky. It almost invited her towards it. She shook her head, trying desperately to focus on her enemies.

Both skeletons struck at once. Mia dodged one blade, but the other caught her leg. It stung sharply, sending her to one knee. Drops of blood fell to the snow. The skeletons chattered loudly. This can’t be it.

Again they swung simultaneously. This time Mia was prepared. She sidestepped both swords. Before they could lift their weapons to ready position, Mia unleashed a spinning attack, catching both skulls with her staff’s blue crystal. Both skeletons' skulls exploded, and their bodies fell limp to the snow.

Mia clutched her leg wound. Lifting her hand, she saw that it was soaked with blood. She used her staff to hold herself up. Slowly, she started back up the hill, away from the vortex. She heard quiet thumping suddenly turn into loud bleating. She turned to see an icy black wolf sprinting full speed towards her. Her vision blurred. She collapsed and felt cold snow against her hot wound. Then blackness.

* * *

She awoke in a warm cave, shadows flickered and danced on its rough stone walls. There was a fire lit with heavy logs and smoke filled the cave. Mia turned to see the smoke leaking out the cave’s small opening, twenty yards away from where she lay. Beyond the opening, the sky was dark save for the bright northern stars.

Mia tried to stand, only to realize she was bound. Thick rope tied her wrists and ankles. The wound on her leg was bandaged roughly with wool. She could see the red of blood had soaked through the wool. It stung sharply. She turned to the other side, away from the entrance and deeper into the cave.

Mia gasped. Lying beside her was Megan. Unbound, but unconscious. Her face was pale, almost white. She was uninjured.

“Megan,” Mia whispered, trying to wake her. The younger clanswoman didn’t budge.

Mia heard footsteps from deeper in the cave. She squinted but the dim light of the stars and weakening bonfire failed to illuminate the furthest reach of the cave. The footsteps grew louder. Finally, a silhouette appeared. Then, gradually, the light of the fire revealed a woman. She wore a heavy black coat over a white dress. Her arms were wrapped in tight leather. Her heavy black boots tapped the stone floor of the cave, loudly echoing off every wall. In the center of her dress was a pink heart.

As the woman approached she took off her hood, revealing pink hair and a pale face. On her head she wore two horns, of a shape and texture Mia had never seen before. They clipped unto her hair, which was wild and unkempt, with two iron clamps. She knelt down next to Mia, her bright gaze froze on Mia. Her mouth bent into a slight frown, and suddenly Mia knew exactly who was before her. The woman was exactly how Rief described, down to the heart sewn on her dress and the horns that adorned her head. It had to be. Chalis.


	19. Arangoa Prelude

Sveta's throne room was brimming with morning light. Another royal meeting was threatening to frustrate her to the point of madness. Sveta's young captain of the guard, Khurt, stood the tallest in the room. He had the full armor of the Morgal royal army on. General Roman wore leather armour and a scowl. Various other advisers looked blankly as Roman spouted his points for the umpteenth time.

She would have ended the conversation far earlier, if had been anyone but the general. Roman had done so much for her family. He was a friend of her father's, King Kaito, and a key part in Morgal's liberation from Sana two years ago. But he was beginning to wear on her patience.

They were going back and forth on the merits of declaring war. Roman believed that the Billish encroachment on the Morgal countryside was reason enough to fight. But Sveta couldn't declare war in good conscience.  _ All other possibilities must be explored,  _ she thought,  _ I won't let anyone suffer if I don't have to. _

“Billish hunters are on  _ our  _ side of the river! They are disregarding the pact King Kaito wrote out with McCoy before the Sanan occupation. This is an act of  _ war _ ,” General Roman was nearly shouting.

Sveta shook her head, “I won't send the army Roman. This nation has gone through a ten year occupation and a disastrous eclipse. I won't lead them to a war we can't win.”

“We  _ can  _ win. The Eclipse reached Bilibin. They are just as weak as we are. The time to strike is now.” Roman made the same point he had been making all morning.

“If they were weak they wouldn't be encroaching on our borders. McCoy knows war. He's been training an army for ten years,” Sveta said.

“My queen, the royal army knows war. Two years ago we chased the Sanan oppressors out of our land with your brother. You forget already?”

Sveta felt a flash of anger, “I will never forget Roman. I grew up watching this nation suffer under their oppression, suffer through the war you seem to remember fondly, and suffer through the Grave Eclipse. No more.”

Roman scoffed loudly, “You don't know suffering, child.”

“This is your queen!” Khurt shouted. The butt end of his spear hit the stone floor of the palace room loudly as he glared at Roman. The old general glared back.

Khurt and Roman didn't have a good report. Roman was constantly defying Sveta, believing he knew what was best for the nation, while Khurt was ever loyal to the royal family. He was brought into the royal palace as a poor boy by Sveta's father. Khurt was like a brother to Sveta's late brother, Volechek. The two did everything together. Now that Volechek and Sveta's father were gone, Khurt's loyalty to them transferred to Sveta. She was thankful for it.

Sveta broke the silence, “Morgal won't go to war unprovoked. If we are attacked, we will defend ourselves. I will send an ambassador to Bilibin to treat with Lord McCoy. Now leave me.”

The general shook his head and gave Sveta a look of pure disgust. He walked swiftly out of the room.

* * *

The next day Sveta sat in the courtyard of the ancient city surrounded by Khurt and three of her guards. Cold autumn morning air rolled in off the bay and permeated the stone streets. Vande's six piece band filled the chilly afternoon with songs of triumph. The songs were from ancient Beastmen sheet music Vande had uncovered in the libraries of old. His golden fur turned in the breeze and his horn played cheerful melodies from times before the Seal, when the beastmen nation was mighty.

The violist used his bow to play melodies effortlessly and skillfully. He had lighter, shorter fur and rounder ears than Vande. Sveta looked around the Belinsk city square and saw Beastmen of many kinds. Many, all of those over thirty years old, had once looked no different than a regular man or woman, of Bilibin or elsewhere. When Alchemy was restored by Matthew's parents everything changed for them.

Sveta couldn't imagine what it was like for them. To suddenly develop the beast features and be forced from their homes, from their villages by the Billish people who had not turned. They were shunned as freaks and lived as nomads, away from the villages and towns. But, Sveta's father united them and settled them in their ancient home: Belinsk. They hadn't known the city was of Beastmen origin until they uncovered the library and translated the ancient books.

So a group of outcasts became a kingdom. One that Sveta herself was charged with watching over. One that had already seen so much pain, so much oppression. Exiled by the Billish, and enslaved by the Sanans. Now, finally, they were free. Sveta had to make sure it stayed that way.

A royal messenger interrupted Sveta's thoughts, “My Queen...”

Sveta stood up from her bench and looked at the young golden furred beastman, “What is it?”

“General Roman left in the night. He's taken five hundred soldiers with him. We suspect they're heading for Bordertown,” the messenger said.

Sveta looked over at Khurt who grunted loudly. His bright green eyes shined through his helmets visor. Long brown fur stuck out from beneath the helmet. He couldn't help but interject, “Then he betrays his queen!”

“Bring him to me when he returns,” Sveta said. The messenger nodded and returned up the north road towards the palace.

_ I'm losing control,  _ Sveta thought.  _ Morgal isn't ready for another war. But Roman has bought us one,  _ she thought.

Vande's song was cut short in the third verse. Vande led the troupe in a long soulful rendition of _ Arangoa Prelude.  _ An ancient folk ballad, to which no one living knew the words. The only word that the Beastmen scholars could translate from the ancient sheet music was  _ Arangoa.  _

It didn't translate to any word directly, but was frequently mentioned in Beastmen mythology. In Beastmen mythology, which was gradually being rediscovered, the Five Beasts were the creators of Beastmen kind and the embodiment. They were in constant conflict with the Five Destroyers. Arangoa referred to the final battle, when the Five Beasts would defeat the Destroyers.

The low horn player in Vande's band played low reverberating notes matched by chords from the pianist and prodding notes from the bassist. The song moved slowly, one chord gradually overtaking the previous in hypnotic synchronicity. Finally the Vande began playing over them. Faster, but still slowly, he played a haunting melody while the rest continued their slow prodding chords.

The busyness of the square slowed to match the eerie music. Vendors spoke in hushed tones to their customers who moved slowly from errand to errand. Three golden furred children, who had been chasing each other up and down the city's great stone steps halted and listened. An old man who had been sweeping rested his chin on a broom to absorb the richness of  _ Arangoa Prelude. _

Finally, the extended intro ended and the song took on its full form. The pianist played the melody with Vande. It reminded Sveta of the spring. When she had met Matthew in the square while Vande's band played the haunting song. She looked towards the south gate. She could almost see Matthew, Tyrell, Karis, Rief, and Amiti standing there waiting. She could hear a silly joke from Tyrell, see a kind smile from Karis, and feel a warm embrace from Matthew.

And then there it was, she could truly see a kind smile. A young man with blue hair and round glasses smiled at her. Rief. He was standing on the old stone slabs waving at Sveta, to the same song they had met to half a year ago. Sveta stood up and hugged Rief while her guards struggled to understand what was happening.

“Rief!” she said after the hug broke off, “How are you?”

Sveta's guards stood down when they realized the scholar was a friend. Khurt recognized Rief and exchanged warm greetings with him.

“I'm alright Sveta,” Rief looked around, “Kraden should be around here somewhere too. He said he went to pick up some supplies.”

Sveta's brow furrowed, “You're not staying?”

Rief shook his head, “No we're passing through. I'm sorry we can't visit.”

_ He's in a great rush,  _ Sveta thought,  _ what could be wrong? _

“Do you need aid?” she asked.

Rief looked around suspiciously, “Is there somewhere we can talk in private?”

Sveta nodded and motioned for him to follow her. Kraden joined them, and with him was a young man with blonde hair and blue eyes, who Rief introduced as his traveling companion Lycus. Lycus smiled and shook Sveta's hand enthusiastically. Sveta led them to the palace as  _ Arangoa Prelude  _ came to an end.

In Sveta's throne room she dismissed all her guards but Khurt. Rief told her of the events in Imil. His mother, Mia, had gone north to find a clanswoman. Alex had appeared with Tuaparang near the village.

“We tracked him south through the Bilibin Cave and into McCoy's country. After that we lost their trail. So we started going by the word of the villagers and farmers. There were many reports of a blue haired warrior and his dark armoured followers. It has to be Alex. Last we heard he was traveling on the road eastwards, towards Mount Roc. We're here for supplies, and to consult with you,” Rief finished the tale.

Sveta thought for a moment. “I can't go with you,” she said, “I wish I could, but my place is here. I can send some of my soldiers to escort you. But not many. My general has taken the bulk of the army west against my orders.”

At her last comment, Rief looked genuinely sad, “We encountered them. General Roman is it? Not a kind man. He claimed to have your blessing. We were skeptical, but there's nothing we could do to stop him. I'm sorry Sveta.”

“It's not your fault,” Sveta looked around the room at each of her friends and then down at her feet, “I've lost control of Morgal.”

Kraden put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a kindly smile. His wrinkles seemed more pronounced than they had been less than a year ago. His usual cheerful demeanor was replaced by a more serious old man's face. For the entire journey the Grave Eclipse didn't seem to affect Kraden as much as it had the others. He was always ready to press on, to push forward and to learn all he could. Constantly studying every ruin, every slab of ancient writing. Looking to expand his knowledge, looking for some clue to end the Eclipse. He never fell into despair.

But now he looked close. “General Roman isn't the only one looking to fight. It's not just here. Tolbi is mustering an army also. Who knows what Alex and the Tuaparang will do. War is coming to Angara like a boulder rolling down a hill. Not even a queen can stop it. I'm sorry Sveta,” Kraden said.

Sveta thanked Kraden and then looked over at Khurt who had been standing silently. “Will you go with Rief to track Alex?” she asked him. He was the only one he trusted on such an important mission. She couldn't go herself, she could never abandon her people. Especially if war was coming.

“I will do as you order,” he paused, “But it would be difficult to leave my Queen in a time of war.”

Rief shook his head. His blue hair got tangled into his wiry glasses. He said, “It's alright. We want to go alone. We're hoping to sneak up on Alex, find out what he's up to that way. With or without Khurt, we can't beat him in a straight fight anyways.”

“Smart,” Sveta agreed, “Khurt, take them to the store room and supply them with any food or gear they might need.”  
“Thank you. That's very gracious,” Kraden said.

“By chasing Alex, you're doing work for all of us in Weyard. It's my duty to help you in any way I can,” Sveta said.

Rief hugged her, “Thank you Sveta. I'm so sorry to leave so soon. I'm sorry to leave when you need our help.”

“We both need each other's help. We'll have to manage alone,” Sveta said. Kraden hugged her and Rief's companion, Lycus, shook her hand again. At that they took their leave, escorted by Khurt. Sveta was alone in her throne room. Alone waiting for the inevitable drums of war to come pounding against the gates of Belinsk. She shuddered.

* * *

The next few days felt long for Sveta. Each day she waited for reports of Roman's army's doings in the western country. She waited to see if they had made it to Bordertown. She waited for details of casualties and injuries. She fought with herself, part of her wanting to go fight with her soldiers, the other part not wanting to stir the pot of conflict more than it already had been stirred.

Sveta sat on the docks looking north as the night sky was obscured by the thick fogs coming in from the north.  _ Bay Fogs,  _ the Beastmen of Belinsk called them. They were used to the weather phenomenon. It was an integral part of the port city's life even. Some even gave the Belinsk folk the nickname  _ Foggers. _

But this night the fog was especially heavy. Sveta could barely see her feet dangling off the docks. She wore a layered linen coat to keep out the cold and moisture. But her feet she kept bare, and allowed them to dangle in the frigid autumn water.

In the distance she thought she saw an orange flame cut through the fog. Just as she resided herself to believing that the light was a trick played on her mind by her eyes, she saw it again. Brighter, and closer. It stayed on for a minute and went out.  _ A ship approaching in this fog? Suicide. _

Then, in the silence of the Belinsk night, Sveta could hear the sizzling of a fuse alight. She stood up quickly and alertly. From the source of the mysterious light came another light. This time much bigger. A round ball of flame appeared out of nowhere in the midst of the fog. Four more, from around the location of the first appeared.

She could hear high pitched whistling as the balls careened wildly towards Belinsk.  _ Catapults!  _ The projectiles crashed against the huge stone walls of the city in explosions of gravel and sparks. The sound of screaming quickly filled Belinsk as the attack woke the slumbering beastmen.

Sveta sprinted through the docks, unconcerned with falling in the sightless night, towards the palace. Guards and the soldiers that had remained in the city, those loyal to Sveta and not Roman, armed themselves and guided the citizens into the safest bunkers within the ancient city's walls and underground.

Sveta ran up the steps of the palace and found Khurt already fully armed and organizing the defense of the city at the palace's front courtyard. He ordered troops to man the defense catapults and start firing back at the source of the shots. From above her, in the palace's tallest tower, the sound of the Beastmen horn filled the night.

Then, from across the bay a louder horn sounded. And it was followed by many of its kind. Coming from the attacking ships. They drowned out the screaming and shuffling in Belinsk. War horns.

“Fire immediately after they fire. Aim for the source of the attacks,” Khurt commanded over the sound of the horns.

Sveta looked around at her army. General Roman had taken the bulk of the soldiers west to fight the threat of Lord McCoy in Bilibin.  _ To start a war I didn't ask for,  _ Sveta thought. The soldiers who remained in Belinsk were ever loyal to Sveta, or at least to the royal family. They were mostly the older men, the ones who fought with Sveta's father and brother in the wars against Sana. They wore leather armour and their fur was greying. Sveta prayed they would be enough to defend the city.

The fog was starting to subside. Sveta ran up the stairs to the great wooden doors of her father's palace as massive stones pelted its walls.  _ My palace,  _ she thought. At the top of the stairs Khurt intercepted her.

“Sveta! We have to get you to the Dynamo,” he shouted over the bustling troops and enemy bombardments.

“The Dynamo?” Sveta was confused.

“It's the only safe place,” Khurt said.

“I  _ need  _ to see what we're dealing with. The fog is starting to clear,” Sveta looked up at the tallest central tower of the keep, “I have to look out over the bay.”

Khurt frowned, “Alright. Let's go.”

He led the way through the castle at a light jog. The palace was eerily empty. Everyone was either manning the defensive catapults or taking cover in the Dynamo or bunkers beneath the city. Only the muffled sounds of the battle outside could be heard. They climbed up the narrow spiral steps of the great tower. 

At the top was a small room with a great window and telescope, devised by the tinkerers of Kalay. Sveta looked out over the bay and saw that the fog was clearing. Every time the enemy would fire an aflame stone ball the light from the fire lit up their ships. She strained her eyes and used the telescope to try to make out any identifying symbols on the ships.

Then, suddenly, the fleet revealed itself. Massive torches were lit on each ship, to guide them through the bay.  _ To guide them to our docks,  _ she thought. Sveta lost her breath. The fleet was nearly one hundred ships. Their wet docks glistened revealing Sanan flags.


End file.
